The Fifth House
by Starry
Summary: There's a secret society at Hogwarts. This is the story of the changed lives of Hogwarts' chosen few. Pre-OotP Please rr! Review mine, I'll review yours!
1. Default Chapter

**The Fifth House**

Hey people!

Disclaimer:I don't know how many times you've heard this, but this is a story where I own the plot, and maybe a few characters later in the story. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Please don't hurt me! She owns all of the rest, the whole enchilada {I like enchiladas!}, including Hogwarts, all the characters, the whole wizarding world according to the HP books thing, and all that mad fun stuff. Please review!

Some day I'll write a book. Until then…

Curtains up {I love that saying}!

Prologue

Not everyone gets accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But everyone who makes it in is accepted somewhere within the school, everyone fits in, in one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. 

Or so the others think so.

Each house was founded by a wizard who exemplified certain traits, and wanted those students who shared these same traits to be put together.Godric Gryffindor was one of extreme bravery and chivalry beyond all means.Helga Hufflepuff was a picture of kindness and loyalty.Rowena Ravenclaw was by far the most clever, surely a genius in her time.Finally, there was Salazar Slytherin, who was sly and cunning, and knew what he wanted and did anything to get it.

Students at Hogwarts all fit in somewhere, and are sorted by an enchanted hat in their first year. The "Sorting Hat" was a way to make sure each student was where he or she belonged; it was a way to secure that after the time of the four founders was ended.It was the perfect solution.

But what about the students who didn't belong?

In 991, when Hogwarts was a relatively new school, a student came to Hogwarts, like the others. She took the Express from Kings Cross, like the others.When her name was called, she nervously walked wearily up to the stool and the Sorting Hat, waiting to find out where her destiny at Hogwarts lay. Just like the others. 

The hat was placed delicately on her head. She took a deep breath, and was going to hold it in until the hat blurted something out. But she couldn't hold her breath past 3 minutes.Headmaster Doppelganger rose out of his velvet-covered chair, and inspected the hat thoroughly. To make sure that nothing was wrong, the next first year was called upon, and five seconds in was placed in Ravenclaw.The Sorting went on until Zeroka, Casmir was placed in Gryffindor.It was decided that this student would be placed in Slytherin, as that's where her parents were. 

It was soon evident that she did not belong in Slytherin, she was far too clever, and so she was switched to Ravenclaw. Her grades dropped, and she was placed in Hufflepuff. She was caught in a Wizard's Duel with her best friend, so she was switched yet again to Gryffindor, with her and the staff and Headmaster Doppelganger hoping for the best. Truly, she wasn't very brave, but since nothing bad came out of it, she remained there.But she never truly belonged.

The next year, a first year boy had the same problem, and eventually was decided to be placed in Hufflepuff

The year after that, nothing happened, the teachers and headmaster regained hope.

The year after that, another first year boy was put in Ravenclaw, just because he aced one piece of homework. There was another that year of 995, when one more girl was placed in Slytherin, when it was noticeable she was too nice to be there, but an average student who broke promises often and was cowardly.

In 995, The Circle was completed.

Two years later, the four unwanted ones formed a Circle, binding each other together for eternity. They are still bound, though they are also dead. They were in their own house, and told noone. It was their little secret. They had meetings in secret places even less obviously known of as the Chamber of Secrets. Only the Circle Ones knew where. And they'll never tell. They went farther in Charms and History of Magic then most had, and discovered an Evil.

An Evil so powerful, that for four years they ran the school by it, planning for the next coming of the reborn Circle they called Terces.They planned for the rebirth to be 1000 years from the year that the final member of the Circle came to Hogwarts, when smaller evils would steal the world's attention.They were always a group to come into something quietly, and not make a huge entrance. Only when Hogwarts hallucinated temporary relief of evil would they see what was coming. Things would be different. The people within its walls wouldn't notice for a while, but the castle would.The Evil would pose itself higher the any wizard, and if the Circle completes it's rebirth, the Evil will never cease existence.

It is the year 1995, and things have already begun to change.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:So what did you think? Should I get to the first chapter? Finish it, let alone start it? Please review, this is my first fan fiction, and I would so unbelievably appreciate any reviews! If you review mine, I'll review yours!

Words of wisdom: No matter how hard you push against the door, you still have to turn the doorknob.

Trust me on this one; I discovered it one day in my basement…

Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW! 

Thanx! I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	2. It is not what you think

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: If you don't know the whole story about not owning Harry Potter, chances are you may not have read the books, which leads me to think or wonder why you might read a fan fiction about a book you haven't read? Anyway—Same story, I don't own Harry Potter or Hogwarts, or most of the characters. It'd be cool if I did, but no. All that fun stuff is J.K. Rowling's so yay her!

Author's note: Thanx to all of you for the reviews! I can't remember who, but one person said something about completely different characters, which I try to do, but some of the old ones have to stay.  I also am starting with Harry, because there is something important about him starting it.  Moving on, you guys rock! You're all so nice! Keep the reviews coming… Remember I love you all!

Curtains Up!

Chapter 1

            Harry woke up, startled, and was trying to remember why.  Then it happened again, BANG!!!!!! Something slammed against his window of the small bedroom of number 4 Privet Drive.  He tried to untangle himself from his bed sheets, but just as he thought he succeeded, he fell off his bed with a thud on the cold, hardwood floor.  He scrambled to the window and finally clicked it open on the fifth try.  Something flew through his window and hit the opposite wall. It was a large something.  A feathery something. A large feathery something with a scroll clamped in it's talons.  

"Calm down'', Harry tried whispering to it.

            Eventually, the owl took refuge on his bed, and Harry was able to take the scroll from it. Harry eagerly unrolled it, and read it in a hushed whisper. It read:

            _Dear Harry,_

_            I'm sorry about the owl, it was the only one to choose from, all of the other school owls are out on missions.  I must forewarn you, this will be the year where your priorities change greatly, and new fears take places where old ones dissolve. _

_There will be no longer be two sides, both will have to band together for any chance. There will be the one side, and then there will be Evil.  Evil I speak of will be found in your sanctuary.  You will need far more protection than ever before, and the One who can give you the protection you need is the One you must beware of._

_            Evil lurks at your sanctuary. And it is waiting for you._

_                                                                                    Sincerely,_

_P.1 Rebirth_

            P.1 Rebirth?  Who could that be?  Harry's head was clouded with questions. 

            Who is this that would inform Harry of something this big?  Why not tell Headmaster Dumbledore, surely he would do something about it?  What two sides was this person talking about? Slytherin vs. Gryffindor? No, that was too minor…

But it could be.  If it was about the Quidditch teams, would it mean there would something like an all-star game, where it would be the teams from Gryffindor and Slytherin up against those of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw? But Slytherin's really the eviler house…

            What was the "Evil" thing about? What could be so evil that it would switch his fears?  He thought back to his third year, when Professor Lupin told him that his greatest fear was fear itself.  Harry still had trouble figuring that out, and it was his fear.  What would he need all of this protection against?  Of course, he always had needed protection from Voldemort and his crew of bad guys, but so did everyone else.  Then it hit Harry. Hard. 

            Voldemort.

            He was the evil they spoke of. Harry was sure of it. Harry whispered to himself, trying to figure it all out.

            "Voldemort must be the evil.  Who's worse than him?  He's waiting for me, well yeah, isn't he always?  He's waiting at my sanctuary. Waiting to kill me."

            Then Harry realized that he seemed really stupid doing this, he couldn't tell what his sanctuary was.  He flipped open a muggle dictionary, which is actually quite useful at times, and found the definition.

            Sanctuary {**sank** 'choo er'e} noun.  A place of refuge, asylum, or protection.

            Harry didn't get it.  The safest place was Gringotts, he knew, but there was something about being suddenly awakened at 3:00a.m. that made his memory  seem warped.  Something in the very back of his mind was trying to tell him something else.  He just couldn't place it.  Maybe if I sleep a little…?

            Then he realized that he would probably forget it all, so he decided to write it down.  His satisfaction disappeared. It all seemed like it was a hopeless guess in writing.  No, he thought, it's an estimate, but part guess…

He finally decided he needed to go to sleep, and called it a guesstimate.

            He woke up what he thought was much later, only to look at a clock and see that the time was 3:30, a whole half hour later!  Actually, since he woke up the first time at 3:00, and stayed up for a while, he probably slept a full ten minutes, if even.  His mind went back to the letter.  He thought long and hard about this.  Voldemort was at his sanctuary, which Harry was still unsure of what his sanctuary was, and was waiting to kill Harry.  Fun!  Thought Harry.  He finally lay down and tried to sleep again.

            Then Harry sat up in bed suddenly.  He realized that Voldemort could not be this Evil, he didn't know how he knew it, but he did.  

             Harry lay down again, only to sit up once more.

            " I can't wait to escape all this and get back to Hogwarts," he whispered.

That was when he felt his stupidity on the brink of exploding.  

            "Duh," he thought.  Hogwarts _was _his sanctuary.  So, did that mean that Voldemort would be at Hogwarts?  Wait, no, he then remembered that he ruled out Voldemort as a possibility for this "Evil".  

            He was still very much asleep, and extremely tired, so he didn't care too much at the time.  

            But he should care. He should very much care.

            He fell asleep again, this time not waking up until 7:00 a.m.  He got out of his bed, and noticed a piece of paper on the floor.  He picked it up and read it.

            It was the letter, with all he had written on the back.  Harry usually felt much better about something after a good night's sleep.  But this case was different.  And Harry wasn't sure why.

            He read over everything, and then saw something scribbled in the lower right corner of the side with the letter.  It said:

                                                                                    It is not what you think

            Harry hadn't noticed this the night before. Last night, he had read it several times.  He could have missed it; it had been 3:00 in the morning.  But for some reason he didn't think so. He did, however know one thing for certain.

            It was coming, this Evil. And it was at Hogwarts, waiting for him.

Author's note:  Do you guys like it?  Was it as good as you said the prologue was?  Was it worse? Better? The exact same?  I need to know, and even if you hated it, I want to know what you think.  So please review.  Come on, you know you want to.

Words of Wisdom:  Your life is a reflection of what you have faced.  Therefore, you are always with the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

Remember, review! Thanx for the reviews so far! You rock!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	3. Children of the Wind

**The Fifth House**

****

Disclaimer: It's the second chapter. Third according to fan fiction.net.  It is only so far into the story, and I still don't own Harry Potter. Or Hogwarts.  But how cool would that be if I did?  Anyway, I only repeat this every chapter so that no one accuses me of plagiarism.  Does anyone read this anyway? Everyone that reads fan fiction knows that no one owns the basic characters, so it's all very pointless.

Author's Note:  AAAAAHHHHHH! I forgot to put "curtains close" at the end of the last chapter.  Please forgive me.  I will never do it again.  It was my muse's fault. Blame it on my muse {who shall remain nameless}.

Thanks to the reviewers! This story is dedicated to all of you guys!  It will actually be dedicated to my first ten reviewers, but I only have 7 so far…

ME—{as in the author} I'll never tell! I will tell who or what this Evil is at the very end, or somewhere near the end. Even my beta-reader doesn't know {I don't have a beta-reader}.

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Two**

        Harry was out of it all day.  It was the morning after he received a mysterious letter from some P.1 Rebirth whoever that should be.  All he thought about that day was that fateful night, when an owl had smashed into his window and went berserk in his small bedroom of Number4 Privet Drive; crashing into just about everything.  

        He accidentally burnt the Dursleys' toast that morning, and it was because he was so lost in thought.  The Dursleys were most displeased, and Harry was sent to his room all day, which he didn't really mind.  It was far better to stay up in his bedroom doing nothing then it was to be a servant to the Dursleys all day.  Even if it meant he was a prisoner of his room.  It was exactly where he wanted to be.

            But alone is exactly what Harry Potter should not be.

            Eventually, Aunt Petunia called him down for dinner.  Harry had hardly realized how hungry he was.  He inhaled the aroma of roast turkey wafting up the hall.  Now he felt famished.

            "Set up the table, boy," barked Uncle Vernon.  

            "Come on, hurry up, I'm starving," added Dudley.

            Harry wasn't sure what Dudley had eaten that day, but it had to be far more than one day's worth of food.

            Apparently the Dursleys were still unforgiving of their toast that morning, and Harry found himself only being allowed to eat about o fourth of what Aunt Petunia had, and hers was severely less than Dudley's. 

            Harry looked hopefully at the carved turkey sitting in front of Uncle Vernon.

            "No more for you, boy," his uncle growled.

            Harry's stomach growled continuously.  Perhaps this was the evil.  Starvation.  It was possible, Harry thought.  In his mind he meant it only as a joke.

            But a voice nearby said, in a voice only It could hear. "If that's the way he wants it.''

            Harry went up to his room immediately after he cleared the table {no choice there}.  On his pillow, there sat a scroll.

            Anxiously, Harry walked towards his bed.  It almost seemed as if something would suddenly pop out of nowhere, and scare him half to death.  Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but the atmosphere seemed to change at that point.  The sky outside darkened; it grew suddenly very silent.  This got at Harry the most, for there is nothing more nerve-racking than the sound of silence.  

            Harry strained his senses.  His eyes looked slowly and searchingly around the bedroom.  He listened very carefully to any small sound.  But there were none.

            Then, Harry heard low whispers.

            Not like any whispers Harry had ever heard before; these came from all around the room.  It was as if the furniture was having a discussion.  First, Harry turned towards the door to search for a source of the sounds.  Then the sounds shifted, more towards the bureau, where Harry turned toward next.  The whispers moved across the room to his bed, where the scroll lay.  Finally, Harry rested his eyes on the window, where the whispers lasted about ten seconds before slowly fading away into the street.  

            Harry faced the window fully, as a light breeze crept through it.  The wind that blew against him paused and stayed blowing back and forth, causing him to sway slightly, rocking in his shoes.  The breeze whispered too; in a manner that one could expect only from a ghost.

            These whispers differed from the first; they were the sounds of children, laughing, and playing together.  Harry felt his eyes close as a picture of four children came to his mind.  They were at a muggle playground, one was pushing another on the swings; the others shrieking with laughter on the seesaw.  It was a bright, sunny day.  The most perfect weather, Harry thought, as he felt himself being bathed is sunlight.

            Unexpectedly, the sky turned an indigo-violet color, which turned to the darkest ebony.  Clouds stormed in quickly, and the rumble of thunder was heard in the distance.  A bolt of lightening cut across the sky.  The once happy shrieks of laughter from the children were replaced with shrill screams.  The children ran away from where Harry was standing.  He tried to run after them; to help them, but it was impossible to catch up to them, as Harry felt himself going in slow motion.  He saw them huddled together in a tight group under a swaying willow.  He tried to yell to them, to tell them it would be okay, but he shouts were lost in the sea of thunder and darkness.  Harry saw blue sparks shoot out from behind him towards the sky.  The exploded in the sky into huge, swirling bursts.  The children seemed slightly relieved at the sight of fireworks, but their fear returned when the sparks from the ends of the swirls hurtled towards the ground.  As each spark hit the ground, the earth that was initially beneath it sank to the ground farther than it seemed it would, and blue flames formed a circle around the hole.  Several of these explosions happened around the children and the willow, surrounding them; their screams were barely heard over the sounds.  An high pitched laugh shattered the scene, and Harry snapped his eyes open, finding himself facing a wide open window.  

            Harry's heart was racing; his brilliant green eyes darted all around the room.  He was breathing hard, and his hands and face were clammy.  His whole body was shaking violently.  The infinite silence was haunting.  It was unbearable.  

            He thought he heard laughter on the street, but was sure he was imagining it.  He did, however, walk closer to the window and gazed out it. 

            He was right, there was no one.  It could not have been any of the neighbor's kids, simply because none of Harry's neighbors had any young children.  He shook his head, as if trying to get rid of the memory of whatever it was that had just occurred.

            What had it been anyway? It wasn't a memory, for nothing like that had ever happened to Harry, not like the Dursleys ever took him to parks anyway.  Nor was it a story he had ever heard.  So where did it come from? He could have hit his head on something; he could have amnesia or be delirious. 

            But Harry couldn't explain how he knew so surely that that wasn't the case.

            How was it he remembered this "happening" so vividly?  It lasted maybe five minutes at the most, yet he could practically instant replay it in his head, not like he wanted to.  Yet even if he never gave it any thought in the future, he knew he would never forget it.  

            He went to lie down on his bed, and he again saw the scroll.

            Harry's hands were still shaking slightly as he fiddled with the string holding the paper rolled together.  He gave up on untying it like he usually did, and instead just slid it off.  He unrolled the paper nervously.  He read it in his own whisper:

                                                                                                _Dear Harry,_

_            I warn you once more, don't trust whom you used to.  Nothing is what you think, your rhythm is reversing.  Your life may seem to look up, but you must not look up when what you need is in front of you.  You shall know when this time is.  The sides are already shifting; you shall feel it in your life.  Roles change, as you will find a new sanctuary, which will be where you never thought you should be.  Ones once friends turn to ones to be lost in the world's new outlook.  The sunshine acquaintance will make their decision about sides for themselves.  You are not they, nor shall ever be.  As the light chorus fades into the new song, you must stay true to you rhythm.  Never change this.  Dwell not in the past or the future, but sing for the moment.  With this I can only say one more thing._

_            Look not to who you think you need, but look to whom you know can help you, even if they are enemies._

_                                                                                                            Sincerely,_

_P.1 Rebirth_

P.1 Rebirth again?  Who on earth was this person? And what on earth did they mean by all that talk?

            What was all this gibberish about rhythm and song and music? Since when did singing come into the picture of importance? What's with all this stuff about changes? The "Light chorus" would sing a new song?  That was okay with Harry, he didn't know who they were.  He'll find a new sanctuary? Where was better than Hogwarts? And why would he ever find a better place?  Sure it was school, but it was his home.  Sing for the moment?  Well, Harry, as a definite target of Voldemort, had to do whatever he needed to try for a safe future.  So too bad for P.1 Rebirth. What did they mean by "sunshine acquaintance? And there was more about those sides again, like the first letter.  Both letters, however, were equally weird.  Just as Harry decided that they must be only as weird as the writer of them.

            It killed Harry to know that some unknown witch or wizard, who would not reveal themselves, was sending him mysterious letters predicting his future.

            Maybe it was Professor Trelawney.  She always did seem a little "out there" about her way of life.  But why would she make up some crazy name?

            Harry had trouble sleeping that night for two reasons: One, he was starving from dinner, and Two, he was thinking about that letter and what had happened when he faced the window earlier that night.  He rolled over in his bed and looked at the window now.  It seemed perfectly normal.  He stared at the ceiling, listening to the night sounds.  Down the hall, he heard Uncle Vernon's loud snoring.  Dudley was talking in his sleep; it was really quite funny, hearing him going on about various things.  He said, "No, I want a pink dress for Barbie…".  Harry tried very hard to suppress his laughter.  He sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

            Not the best thing for him to do.

            The whispers returned.

            They were softer than before, and Harry again felt the wind on his face, but it was much harder this time.  His window blew open with a loud BANG!!!!

Harry sat up very quickly, staring at it.  He slowly got out of his warm bed and crept across the floor to the window, where an icy wind awaited him.

            It wasn't the only thing waiting.

            He looked out onto the pavement below, where there were several children, one was holding a leash that was tied to a collar of a very large dog.  The children stood in a circle, whispering and looking slightly serious, slightly like they were about to crack up.

            One saw Harry and put up a hand to silence the others. She then nodded toward Harry in a fashion that seemed like she was trying to be discreet about it.  

The others looked up at Harry. This reminded Harry of a line from that letter:

_            You must not look up when what you need is in front of you._

            Harry related it to these children, thinking that they were looking up at him when they truly needed each other.  It didn't seem to make any more sense this way than it had in the letter.

            All of the children were looking up at him, each had a face with an expression that was impossible to read in the dark, but whatever it was, it seemed like it would be just as hard to read in the daylight.

            This mutual staring went on for about five minutes at the most, when one of the girls said, "Come on, guys.  Let's go."

            The others nodded in agreement, and together they walked into the darkness, leaving Harry staring after them.

            Harry did not notice when they sky turned an eerie indigo black.

Curtains Close!

I remembered to say curtains close!

Author's Note: Wow, that was a long chapter, at least longer than the others.  This chapter actually came to me easiest. For that I thank my mysterious muse.  It's really scaryish, reading over it.  I think I just invented a word: scaryish. Fun!

So, you all know the drill: You read. Now you review.

This is Madame Starry, looking into her crystal ball, I see, well it's rather cloudy, ahhhh! It's coming to me! Aaaaahhhh, yes.  In my crystal ball I see all of you reviewing! 

Coincidence? I think not.

Anyways, thanx to all of my reviewers! You've all been so kind! 

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	4. It's Here

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I swear it's the same every time, I STILL don't own Harry Potter.  And I'm not counting on getting the legal documents to ownership for Christmas.  I won't get my hopes up.  Does anyone really read this?  Besides me, sometimes?  If you are shaking your head no, my point exactly.  If you are actually reading this though, you obviously read the disclaimers, and you know it.  

Author's Note: AAAHHH! I forgot to put the words of wisdom thing at the end of the last chapter.  It's got to be the holiday season stress that's got me all messed. Oh well.

I haven't updated in like, a week, but my new year's resolution is to update at least once a week.  Not like I'm ever that great with my resolutions but…

Anyway.

Curtains Up!

Chapter Three

            It is most unusual when the one thing that gets you worked up is the thing that passes you by most often.  Harry hadn't realized when the sky turned indigo black.  He was too busy staring after the four children.  What had Harry the most intrigued was the fact that children that young were out that late at night, they had to be only as old as ten or eleven at most.  There was no way that parents were that lenient with their kids these days.  Especially with all those dark wizards around, that showed no mercy to anyone.  

            Harry couldn't know if they were muggles, though.

            It certainly made no sense whatsoever, that even parents of magic families would enable their children out at those hours, it was just unheard of.  

            Harry realized that it was very pointless to ravel himself into deep thought so late in the night.  He would probably forget all he thought about.  Maybe he had hit his head on the windowpane, and got amnesia.  He had considered the amnesia thing earlier that day, but he was sure that wasn't it.  

            Deciding he really needed some sleep, Harry raked his brain to make up some sort of story of what was going on; he eventually decided that these were children who were insubordinate, who broke rules and disobeyed authority, so that they were put with people who were thought to be able to control them.  Maybe they had sneaked out.  Thought he knew it was a stupid thought, Harry knew it could be possible, so he returned to his small bed and lay down. 

            He took several deep breaths, and relaxed himself.  His thoughts contained Ron and Hermione having a blast back at Hogwarts.  Slowly, very slowly Harry drifted off into a deep slumber.

*          *            *            *

            Harry woke up in the morning to a shrill scream coming from somewhere within the house.  He sat up quickly, and then realized he had imagined it.  

            Just as he was relaxing again, Aunt Petunia came banging on his door.

            "Get up you!  There are lots of chores to be don't today, and everyone has to help!"

            In number four, Privet Drive, everyone, when applying to doing chores, meant Harry.

            Harry stood up too fast, and got a massive head rush.  Holding his head in his hands, he walked to his wardrobe, where he grabbed a pair of Dudley's old jeans and an old shirt of Dudley's.  He walked to his door, but slipped on a spare piece of parchment that lay on the floor.  Harry reached down to pick it up, but felt as if someone pushed his back and he fell spread eagle on the cold, hard, floor.

            "Stupid paper," Harry muttered.  Several words on the paper caught his eye, and he realized what it was.

            It was a letter from his best friend, Ron Weasley.

            "Yes!" Harry said eagerly scanning his eyes over it.

                                                                                                            _Harry-_

_            What's up?  Anything new with the muggles?  No?  Typical.  It's your birthday in two days!  By the time you are reading this it may be one day, though._

_In case you didn't remember, usually around the time of year of your birthday something happens that usually ends up with you staying at our house.  We really didn't want to wait for something terrible to happen to you, so mum says to just ask if you can spend the rest of the summer with us.  So can you?  The world cup is in Thailand this year, so dad couldn't get us tickets.  Not like we could've understood anything, we'd have to get Dad to use a Translation Charm or something._

_            Anyway, send an answer back with Pig, but he might have to rest at your place for a little, he has difficulty with parchment larger than him._

_See you soon, I hope!_

_                                                                                    You friend,_

_Ron_

          Harry smiled down at the letter.  He hadn't realized how long it'd been since he heard from one of his friends.  He then realized that there was a P.S.

_P.S. Dad has this thing at work, so we might have to go with him to the ministry sometime.  Percy was not pleased when he heard this.  Also, if you can't find Pig, he likes hiding in closets.  _

            Harry had never been to Arthur Weasley's office before.  It would be very interesting if they went.  Maybe the ministry could even help him locate P.1 Rebirth.  

            Harry realized that Pig must've been in the closet all this time, so he opened the closet door to set him free.  Pig zoomed out and hit the ceiling.

            "Poor thing", Harry thought, looking up at it.   Pig was stuck to the ceiling, almost flat against it.  He finally fell onto the bed.  He really was pitiful sometimes.

            Harry saw Pigwidgion look quickly towards the window, and cock his head slightly.  Harry followed suit, but as he looked to the window he saw something in the sky.  Something that looked like a thousand wizards and witches on broomsticks.

            Harry walked quickly to the window, almost tripping several times from not looking at the floor.  

            This strange shape in the sky seemed to be going east, away from the Dursleys'.  Then it suddenly turned 180 degrees and came with great speed towards Harry's window.  That was when Harry realized he should close the window.  He slammed it shut right in the face of this mysterious cloud, so the shape turned back east, for a head start, then came directly back towards Harry's room with such force Harry had to put his full bodyweight up against the window.  The shape didn't manage to open the glass window, or even shatter it.  

            But a voice somewhere nearby spoke softly, just loud enough for Harry to hear.

            "We're here."

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Whew! That was long.  I think that all of the chapters will be longer now.

I won't be updating until after Christmas, unless I get a sudden stroke of brilliance that pen and paper just aren't good enough for.  *shrugs* Maybe.

Words of Wisdom:  The thing that you treasure most passes you by when you least expect it.

I remembered!

Wow, I should write fortune cookie fortunes someday.  Let me practice:

You are reviewing this chapter in your future.

Anyways—thanx for the reviews!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~ Starry 


	5. Cloud 9

**The Fifth House******

Disclaimer: Maybe I need to refresh your memories, since the holiday season puts us all in a tizzy {I love the word tizzy}, I'll do the favor of reminding you.  I do not own Harry Potter. I never will own Harry Potter.  Five Minutes from now, Harry Potter will most likely still be J. K. Rowling's.  It's the way things should be.

But, I really wish it were different.

Author's Note: I'm baaaack! Is that rejoicing I hear? Ah, I thought so!  Happy Holidays everyone! Merry Christmas!  Happy Hanukah {is that spelled right?}!  Happy Kwanzaa!  I got like, 15 reviewers.  I'm overjoyed!  Really! I mean it! Aaahhh, the power of cheese.  Please pardon my randomness; I'm rather hyper, so this should be quite a chapter.

I said, no, typed, the word "quite''.

I never say that word.

I am becoming a dictionary.

Anyway, please review after, because you love me.  I had to read my whole story before writing this because I forgot what was happening.  It was as if I didn't know that some evil cloud was trying to break into Harry's bedroom.

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Four**

            "Who said that?" said Harry, looking wildly around the room.

            If there was one thing Harry learned that day, it was that you don't turn around when a cloud is slamming against your window.  

But this was a special case.

            Harry had heard a voice say, "We're here".  He knew it.  He hadn't imagined it, Harry was certain that's someone-something said that.  

But this was not the time for pondering even the most mysterious questions.

            Harry was raking his brain, trying to think of an explanation.  As far as he knew, even in the Wizarding World, it was not normal when a cloud is after you.          The cloud was turning again.  It sped toward the east horizon again, then turned and started to fly back to Harry's window.  

"Here we go again", Harry muttered, bracing himself.

            But the cloud stopped.

            Suddenly it stopped.  Ten feet from the glass window.  It was levitating in midair.  Harry could see it clearly now.  He could see just what it was that was trying to attack him.

But what it was was the exact the question Harry was trying to answer.

            It seemed, for the most part, to be a dark, damp mist.  But there was more.  It seemed to be extra concentrated in the center, like it had a core.  Harry could almost feel a slight sense of power through the glass.  He didn't want to know what could have happened if the cloud hadn't stopped.

Well, Harry Potter was going to experience just that.

            As soon as the cloud had stopped, it picked up force again.  It was going away from the window, very quickly.  As soon as it was very far, Harry stopped leaning against the glass and turned back to his bed.

Harry Potter didn't see the cloud turn back towards the window and pick up speed.

Harry Potter didn't know what was coming.

            Harry heard a faint buzzing sound, like when his Firebolt had been coming towards him last year during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.  He started to turn his head, but the cloud was already at his window.  

            The glass smashed open and hit Harry.  The force of the wind knocked him to his knees, he had to hold his head down to keep his face from getting wind burned.  He was in that position all while glass was flying towards him, pelting him with bits of it.  The wind had almost pushed him against his wall.  Gradually, the wind died down, and Harry opened his eyes and slowly brought his head up.

            The light that filled the room practically blinded him.  He felt a warm breeze, almost like that happening he had at the park.  

" Turn around, Harry.  It's okay, we would never hurt you," a woman's gentle voice said.

            Harry found himself disbelieving, he knew that voice.  It had been fourteen years, but it was one thing he could never forget the sound of.

"Mum," Harry whispered.

            He spun around quickly, facing the full light.  In a faded picture in the center of a cloud of luminous swirling mist were his mother and father.

" It's been a while, Harry," his father said, smiling.

" But, how, what, when, _how_…?" Harry started.

" Harry, we haven't much time.  We'd love to talk, but right now you must listen," his mother said, a look of seriousness on her face.  She continued.

            " You may have already heard, but an Evil is at Hogwarts.  This is something that is near impossible to prevent or block.  I'm not even sure if Dumbledore knows the one way to stop it.  Even love, the most powerful counteraction for evil, cannot deflect it.  You must be prepared.  We heard that you've been invited to the Weasley's for the rest of the summer.  You must go.  We knew we won't have to persuade you to go there, but my sister's family will be slightly harder."

            Lily Potter's voice started to fade away. But Harry could still hear one last verse she was repeating.

_" You must be prepared…you must be prepared…"_

"No, don't go…" Harry said.

But the pictures of his parents and their voices were fading away.

*          *          *          *

            Harry fell onto his bed, breathing hard.  His hair was tosseled, his heart pounding.  He had gotten what he'd wanted most in his life, and it only lasted for five minutes.  

            Thinking about the information his parents had told him, he realized it was nothing that P.1 Rebirth hadn't said before.  But still, it was his mother that had said it…

Just then he was interrupted by Aunt Petunia barging into the room.

"I told you to do the chores.  An hour ago.  Think about it, boy, we have raised you since you were one, and this is the kind of respect we get?"

This was the kind of respect they deserved.

            Still, Harry didn't like to mess with Aunt Petunia when she was mad.  And he had to butter her and his uncle up somehow if he wanted to go to Ron's.

            So Harry went to work.  He did the dishes, replanted all of the rose bushes in new soil, pruned the hedges, swept the floors, re-organized Mrs. Dursley's fine china in alphabetical order by designer, and did several loads of laundry.  He was feeling pretty sure of himself as he poured glasses of wine to take out to his aunt and uncle on the patio.

            "So, I was wondering," Harry started to say.

" A boy like you can cause problems when he's wondering.  Stop that right now!" said Uncle Vernon.

" Okay, well, I was thinking, well, I got invited to go to Ron Weasley's house for the summer, you know the Weasleys, the nice big family with all red hair?" Harry asked.

Uncle Vernon grunted a yes.  Apparently, Dursleys like himself couldn't sink their reputations by saying they "know" people like the Weasleys. 

" So, can I go?" Harry asked.

Harry saw His uncle give Aunt Petunia a look.  A look that said all over it, 'Well, it would do us good to get rid of the brat, and we certainly don't want to mix with that godfather of his, but what if the boy starts thinking we like him?'

" Well, fine then.  But it's only because I'm trying to protect my family from that godfather you've got."

" Thanks," Harry replied.  Only he knew it was pointless, saying thanks to people like the Dursleys.

Harry ran through the house up the stairs to his room.  He pushed around piles of paper, searching for a scrap of parchment and a quill.  Finally he found what he was looking for.  He sat on the bed and screwed open the bottle of ink.

He started his letter,

                                                                                                _Dear Ron,_

_            Hey. What's up? Nothing much here.  The muggles say I can come to your house! The only thing is, you never said when, and I realized, well, we really don't need another incident like last summer.  The Dursley's weren't very pleased with Dudley's four-foot tongue._

_            So if you could write back soon. It'd be great, because I can't wait to see you and your family and get out of this torture chamber.  Write back soon!_

_                                                                                    Your friend,_

_Harry_

            Harry strapped the tiny parchment to Pigwidgeon's leg.  It was very difficult, especially since Pig's little legs were kicking every which way.

            After all that trouble was over, Harry walked over to his window, to find that it had already been thrown open.  Harry was very puzzled. 

"Hi Harry, long time no see!" said a familiar voice that was coming from the street below.

            Harry grinned as he looked down through the window at the pavement, where he saw the familiar faces of all nine Weasleys, standing in front of a muggle car.  

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: That was pretty long, but hey, I said it would be.  That chapter had a lot going on.  But the next chapter should be more interesting, it's in a different setting: The Burrow.

Words of Wisdom:  Hope for the best, but expect the worst.

I don't get that saying too much.  But I was in need in a Words of Wisdom quote, and I wasn't going to bail on you guys and just not write one.  That would be wrong.

Because I saved you from this trauma, do me a favor and review?

Thanx for the reviews!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	6. Laughing Lemon Drops

**The Fifth House**

****

Disclaimer: We all know.  Do you remember? I do not own the characters. Or the setting.  I own those weird kids that were in Harry's happening thing, and also those wonderful little cherubs that were, for some strange reason, were on Privet Drive so late at night.  I own the plot too. J. K. Rowling owns everything else.

Sigh.

Author's Note:  Hi people! Happy New Year! It is January First, 2003, and my new year's resolution is to update every 3 to 7 days! How many times have I said that? A lot, I think.  This lovely chapter takes place at the Burrow {as a main setting, there are a few parts that are on Privet Drive, and maybe some other places, I'm winging this chapter}.  So, read, review, and repeat with all chapters to come!

Lalala.

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Five**

****

            "Hey Harry, how's it going?" asked Ron.

            " It's going, how about you?" Harry answered.

            "I'm alright. You don't mind that we, er, kind of, stopped by, do you?" asked Ron in a way that gave Harry the impression that he was nervous.

            "No, I don't mind, of course, but I'm not so sure about the Dursleys…"

            That was when Uncle Vernon walked out the front door.  He looked perfectly normal.  He didn't realize who was on his front lawn.

"Excuse me, but who are—?" he started. 

            Suddenly his expression completely changed.  He squished his face, and it was slowly reddening.  His body shook.  Then he exploded.

            "What on earth, are all of you doing here? And, why are you outside, boy, when you need to be helping your Aunt clean?"

Harry gave the Weasleys an apologetic look. 

            Mrs. Weasley spoke up. "Well, you see, Mr., er, Harry's uncle, we invited Harry to our house over the summer, and it is to my understanding that you are allowing him to, so we just thought that we'd pick him up now."

            "Well, yes, I did say he could go, but, well…"  Mr. Dursley was losing his strength every second.  

"Fine, then. But the boy is to get his things together this instant and get out of my face as soon as possible!"

Mrs. Weasley looked appalled at the lack of care Mr. Dursley had for Harry.

"Well, I'm sure Harry can get his things together very quickly," Mr. Weasley said. "Fred, George, Ron, why don't you all help Harry?' he suggested pointedly.

"Okay Dad," answered the twins in unison.

            Harry felt a great amount of relief.  He had thought that the Weasleys would arrive soon after his letter had been sent, but he hadn't expected it this soon.

            "Sorry about that Harry," Ron said.  "Dad really thought that we should come get you today.  He seemed really certain that you would be able to come, I have know idea how he knew."

            "Sorry? Why should you be sorry?  You saved my life! One more day with the muggles and I'd pop!" Harry answered Gratefully.

            "I thought so," said Fred.

            "Yeah, and even if the muggles hadn't given you permission, that wouldn't have stopped us anyway.  Remember the summer before your second year?" George added.

            Harry laughed.  It had been very funny, the way Fred, George, and Ron had rescued Harry from his bedroom prison in a flying Ford Anglia.  It was a memory from the good old times, before Voldemort had come back.

            Harry noticed that Ron was being very quiet.  

            Harry, with the help of the Weasleys, packed all of his things quickly.  As Fred and George were inspecting a rather boring looking lamp that had the ugliest fake jewels Harry had ever seen on it, Harry walked over to where Ron was getting some of Harry's schoolbooks together.

            "Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked gently.

            "What? Oh yeah, I'm fine.  It's just, it's kind of embarrassing, but, …"

            " Hey Harry, are these jewels worth anything?" Fred interrupted.

            "Those, no, they're plastic.  My aunt got that for Dudley at a garage sale.  She thought He'd like it for some reason or another.  It's broken, and that's why I got it.  You can have it."

            "Thanks Harry!" said George. Hey, We've got everything, we should probably get going, don't you think?"

            "Yeah sure," Harry said.  He turned back to Ron.

            " I'll tell you later. Hey Hermione's arriving tonight, by the way," Ron said.

            "Okay," said Harry slowly.

            The four boys ran down the stairs and through the door.  Harry noticed His uncle looking suspiciously at the lamp in Fred's hands.  Harry and the Weasleys piled into the car, which Harry noticed had been fixed like one he'd ridden in before, the seats were bigger in the car than any muggle could imagine.  The Dursleys, who were all outside now, were stricken with amazement as the ten passengers got into the car and drove down Privet Drive.

                                                            *            *            *            *

            The car ride was spent catching up.  Harry heard all he'd missed in the wizarding world, and the Weasleys heard all about Harry's summer so far.

Well, almost all about it. 

            Harry thought it would be the best to leave out all the parts about the letters from P.1 Rebirth, the weird happening experience, the children in the street, and the cloud his parents were visiting him through.

So, he pretty much left out all that had happened.

            When they arrived at the Burrow, Mr. Weasley announced that he had to return to his office at the ministry.  

"But Arthur, Harry has only just joined us, don't you think it impolite to leave at this point?" Mrs. Weasley persisted.

"I wish I could stay, Molly dear, but really, with all the dark business these days, I need to be there very often.  They need me.''

Mrs. Weasley finally gave in.  "Oh, fine, but be back before dinner, Hermione should be arriving around then."

            Mr. Weasley left and Ron helped bring Harry's things to his room.  

            " Harry, about what I was saying before,…" Ron started.

            Harry saw that Ron looked very nervous; it was visible in his eyes.

Ron Continued.  

            "Well, it is very embarrassing, and I don't know what I'd do if Fred and George ever found out, but I guess you won't laugh.  You won't right?"

            " No, I swear," Harry answered.

            Ron gulped.  "It's just, No one mentioned it in the car, but You-Know-Who has killed two more people after Cedric.  One was some woman from a foreign country, Canada or somewhere.  But the other was a ministry worker.  Dad knew him, they were friends.  Both victims were killed with Avada Kedavra.  The woman was murdered in her home, but the man, he was killed at the Ministry building.  Where Dad works.  Harry, d'you remember Dad ever talking about some old wizard he worked with in misuse of Muggle Artifacts office?  Well, That was who died.  I can't recall his name, it's rather strange, but I shouldn't really talk, I mean strange names have almost lost their strangeness I've heard so many.   Back to the point.  I'm really _scared_ Harry, I don't want anything to happen to Dad.  Think about how easy it could be to trick him into meeting up with You-Know-Who somewhere, all they'd have to do was tell him that they'd give him some batteries or plugs or something.  I just don't want him to die."

            By now Ron's eyes were glistening.  He also looked very pale.  Harry realized that this would now be a fear of his own.  Harry was just about to say something when Mrs. Weasley's voice rang through the staircase.

            "Boys, Hermione's here!"

            Ron wiped the moisture from his eyes, and stood up quickly.  Harry looked him in the eyes.  He had to say something before they went downstairs.

            "Ron, nothing will happen to your dad.  He's a really smart wizard, he wouldn't get fooled that easily.  Plus, he has enough batteries and plugs already."

            Ron laughed. "Yeah, Harry, I guess you're right, I was just kind of out of it, I guess.  Might be because both murders were within this last week.  But I should be okay now, thanks for not laughing.  But, can you promise one more thing?"

            "Yeah sure," Harry answered.

            "Don't tell Hermione, I really don't want her to try to read about it in some book," Ron said.

            "Sure thing," Harry said, through a laugh.  "And, after dinner, I think I have to tell you and Hermione something."

            "Okay, but it's weird how we both have all these secrets now.  You know what that means?" Ron hinted.

            "No, but I don't think it sounds too great," Harry answered slowly.

            "Oh, It's not bad, we just have to get Hermione to tell us something."

            Harry laughed.  "But, she won't know what you told me, she won't let you off that easily."

            Ron had a very mischievous look on his face, "Well," he said, "I could always tell her that my dear brother George had a major crush on her in our third year."

            "I never knew that," Harry said, he was very surprised.

            "Well, neither does George, but Hermione doesn't have to know that.  I may have a whole new and improved story to tell by the time dinner is over."

            By now Harry's stomach hurt from laughing.  The old Ron was back.

            "Honestly, you two, what is so funny?" asked a voice at the door.

            Harry and Ron both stopped laughing immediately.

            "Oh, hi Hermione, how nice to see you," Ron said.

            "Hey, sorry about Ron, he accidentally ate some new food Fred and George invented, it makes you crack up laughing.  It's very hard to not laugh when you see him like that," Harry covered up quickly.

            "Alright then.  So what's Fred and George's new invention called? Then?"

            Harry felt defeated. He and Ron looked at each other.

            "What new invention of ours?" two voices asked, joining Hermione at the doorway.

            "Hi Fred, hi George.  You know your new invention, that food that makes you crack up into unstoppable laughter?" Hermione said.

            "Hi Hermione," said George.  Harry and Ron fought to keep from laughing again.

            " That's a great idea, Hermione! We'll give you credit for the idea; we'll call it the Laughing Lemon Drop of Death! Actually, we should probably leave out the "of Death" part, or else people may hesitate to try it for some reason!" Fred added. 

            The twins left the doorway talking excitedly, making plans for the Laughing Lemon Drops, no doubt.  Hermione gave Harry and Ron a very suspicious look.  They gave her looks that said, 'Who, us? We didn't do anything!'  Hermione looked just about ready to say something that ran along the lines of their immaturity and how their conversations could be so much more interesting if only they would read.

            Harry rescued them by speaking up.  "I think it's time we went down for dinner."

            Hermione shot him and Ron Looks that were very easy to read, 'I'm not through with you lot yet'.  

            Harry was almost grateful that he had something to tell Ron and Hermione after dinner.  It may not be good news, but it would make Hermione forget about telling them off.  Harry had to be careful about how much he told them, though.

He didn't want to think about all the books Hermione would shove at him.

Harry Potter also did not know who else could be listening. 

*          *            *            *

            The dinner Mrs. Weasley had prepared was very good.  There was fried chicken, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, a very large salad, and a towering cake at the very end of the meal, which Harry was not sure of the purpose for.

            After dinner all of the Weasley kids, Harry, and Hermione helped clear the table.  Most of the Weasleys wanted to talk in the kitchen, so Harry, Hermione, and Ron only stayed in there for a short while before they decided to go outside.   Harry actually would not have minded staying in; there were several interesting conversations.  Mrs. Weasley Had already heard about The Laughing Lemon Drops, and was not at all pleased.  Ron's two oldest brothers, Charlie and Bill, were swapping stories from there work places.  Charlie works with dragons, and was informing Bill of the dragons that resided in Egypt, which was where Bill worked for The Ministry.  Percy, however, was boring Ron's younger sister, Ginny, with the latest subject he was reporting on for the ministry.  Mr. Weasley arrived home just then, and Mrs. Weasley left the twins alone for just a minute to talk to him about being home for dinner.  She randomly called out, "Fred and George, don't you two dare go upstairs!" Even with her back turned, she knew that they had tried to creep up the stairs.  

            When, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally got outside, they sat down under a maple tree in the Weasley's front yard. Ron managed to say quietly to Harry, "I'm sticking to the same story about George." Harry grinned at him.  Hermione glared at both of them.  

            "What are you two always whispering about?" she demanded.

            Ron grinned. " You see Hermione, it's kind of a secret, so if we tell you, you have to tell something, too."

            "Well, what about Harry?" she asked. 

            "I'll find something to tell," Harry said defensively.

            "Fine, what is it, Ron?"

            "My brother, George, you know him?" Hermione glared. " Yes, well, in our third year, he had a crush on you."

            Hermione blushed.  "Ronald Weasley, if I find out you're lying, I'll kill you!"

            "Fair enough. Your turn."

            "Well, I can't really think of anything, give me a minute"

            She concentrated very hard for five minutes; each time she was ready to talk, she hesitated and changed her mind.

            " Okay, well, you know that test we had in Flitwick's class last year, before the exams, the one a aced?"

            "Which test haven't you aced? Plus, everyone aced that test."

            "Well, you see, I didn't really get a perfect score, I actually got a six out of ten."

            " You lied to us!" Ron said.

            "Well, I didn't want you to know that I got a lower score than you, because I knew you'd brag, and you would."

            "Wow, Hermione, that had to be hard to tell," Harry said jokingly.

            "It was!"

            " Yeah I know, I'm just kidding.  I never do too well in Charms anyway."

            Ron turned to Harry. "Okay, your turn."

            "Just to inform you, it's pretty long, so if you get bored I'm sorry. And you both have to swear not to tell."

            "Okay, okay, we swear we won't tell, so what's up?"

            " Well, this has been a strange summer for me.  In a weird, scary sense.  I've been getting strange letters.  They say all this rubbish about some evil being after me, and how it's waiting at Hogwarts, and they also go on about how I won't know who to trust anymore, and how people in my life's roles will change.  Weird stuff like that, it almost sounds like Professor Trelawney is sending them.  They're signed from some person who calls themselves P.1 Rebirth.  I opened my window once, and heard whispers and I closed my eyes and I was at a park. There were children, and it was a beautiful day until this huge storm came, with thunder and lightening.  Then a wizard behind me shot sparks out of their wand that burst into fireworks.  But the sparks from the fireworks hit the ground and sunk holes, the children were all together in a bunch surrounded by these holes.  Then,  someone laughed, a really high pitch laugh, and I opened my eyes and was back in my room.  Then there were four kids and a big dog out on my street at, like, three in the morning.  Last, there was this evil cloud that kept slamming against my window, trying to break into my room.  And that's my wonderful summer."

            Hermione and Ron were both pale, breathing heavily and they looked scared.  The silence was killing him.

            " Well, do either of you have anything to say?"

            " Harry, I can read some things about clouds and dreams, even though it has to do with divination.  This is really serious."

            "Should I ask Dad? No, I promised not to tell, sorry, yeah, I'll read some stuff too I guess.  Mum liked divination all right, maybe she'll know something about the dream thing."

            "Thank you so much guys, you have no idea how much you're helping me."

            "Omigosh! Harry, _have you told Dumbledore?_''

            "Hermione, he has enough to consider right now, with Voldemort back and all.  I can't tell anyone who could help except you guys.  I haven't even told Sirius."

            "Okay, but you should still try, Harry," Hermione said. "Did you notice anything unusual that all of the scrolls from, who was it?"

            "P.1 Rebirth," Harry answered.

            "Yes, well have you noticed anything unusual that all of the letters from P.1 Rebirth had in common?"

            Harry thought hard. There had only been two.  They had both been on parchment, not the normal kind, but a really rich kind of parchment.  He assumed they'd both been delivered by the same crazy owl.  He told Ron and Hermione this, and then pulled the letters out of his pocket.

            Hermione noticed a lot of little things.  Then she looked really amazed. "Harry. You didn't see this seal on both of them?"

            Harry looked closely at the design that was on the top of the parchment, apparently it held it together, but Harry had ripped them both open so it was likely he didn't see it.  It was a rich purple color.  The design was a very small, barely noticeable wolf.  It was a very strange symbol.

            "Hermione, do any wizarding schools use wolves as a symbol?" Ron asked.

            "Not that I know of, and not to brag, but I've read a lot about other schools of magic," Hermione answered honestly.  " But it could be a symbol for something else in the wizarding world, I don't think they'd use any muggle customs."

            " Thank you so very much, Encyclopedia Hermione," Ron answered.

            Hermione rolled her eyes.  

            Harry was so glad that his friends were helping him, that he hadn't even noticed nightfall.  "Hey you guys, we should really get inside, Ron, your mum might worry."

            "Oh yeah, it's pitch black."

            "Actually Ron," Hermione corrected,  "It's really more of an eerie indigo color."

            Harry hadn't ever heard Hermione correct Ron about something so simple.  Yes, the sky was indigo, and yes, it was eerie, but it sounded so familiar.

Then he remembered, _the letter. _

            He didn't want to freak Hermione out by telling her she quoted the letter.  He was sure she hadn't read it, she would have found some comment to say about bad grammar or how another, larger, more genius-level vocabulary word would work so much better.  

            When the three got in the house, Mrs. Weasley was slightly mad.  "I didn't know where you were, oh, and you should all go to bed, we're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow.  I assume you all know where you're sleeping.  Harry, you're with Ron, Hermione, you're staying with Ginny and your things have been brought up, Fred and George volunteered."

            Harry knew that the twins hadn't volunteered as much as Mrs. Weasley had volunteered them.

            Harry was grateful to go to bed; he was exhausted.  He was almost asleep, but still thinking about the letter.  He thought about how Ron had admitted to being scared for the first time, and how Hermione had criticized Ron for getting a color wrong.  'What was up with them?' he thought. 

            That was when he realized that the letter's predictions were coming true.  He couldn't believe it.  He concentrated hard to find a place that he thought he should never be.  He came up with nothing, but he would find a new sanctuary sooner or later.  He thought of that line in the letter:

            _Roles change, as you will find a new sanctuary, which will be where you never thought you should be._

Then there was another line:

            _Ones once friends turn to ones to be lost in the world's new outlook._

            Would the world's new outlook never see black skies? Would they show new fears?  Harry had a new fear:  Ron's Dad being killed by Voldemort.  Harry associated that with another line from a letter:

            _New fears take places where old ones dissolve._

            Harry wasn't sure what old fears would dissolve, but he knew a fear would sooner or later.  Everything the letter said would occur eventually; it was a fate.

But Harry Potter did not know it was a fate far worse than death.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  Whoa that was really long.  It's eight pages off Microsoft Word.  I could have broken that into two separate chapters, but I think it flows better this way.  Plus, where would I have broken it in half?

Words of Wisdom: No matter what anyone ever does, whacking your head against the wall will not resolve your problems; it will only give you a headache.

That's so true! Take it from someone who knows.  

I've given you a lovely piece of advice, and I'll give you more next chapter if you review.  Remember, I love you!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	7. The Truth About Cirulimbus Clouds

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer:  Yesterday, I did not own Harry Potter.  Today I still do not own Harry Potter.  Tomorrow, I most likely will not own Harry Potter.  J.K. Rowling does.  Yay her! So, I do not own much of this story. The most crucial part, the plot, is mine, all mine.  There will be a few characters later in the story that will be mine.  But all the rest, Harry, his crew, Hogwarts, the whole wizarding world, they all belong to J.K. Rowling.  So deal with it.

Author's Note:  How many people read this? The a/n, I mean? Sigh. This chapter will take place at the Weasleys, at Diagon Alley. If anyone read my other fic, I said this was a true story. I meant to say a real good story. I admit, I was trying to talk up my own stories.  Anyway, read, review, and rejoice!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Six**

****

            "Harry, dear! It's time to wake up!" Mrs. Weasley sang.

            "What? Huh?" Harry answered.

            Mrs. Weasley moved on to wake up Ron.  "Oh Ronniekins!"

            "Mum, didn't I tell you to never call me that!" Ron yelled from under his bedcovers.

            " It could have come up in conversation…."

            "Oh, honestly, Mum! Why don't you wake up Hermione and Ginny, and then come back and wake us up again?" Ron suggested.

            " Because, Ron, the girls have been up for almost a half hour!"

            "What?!"  Ron asked, surprised.

            Mrs. Weasley seemed slightly annoyed.  "Because the girls know that today is a special day. Today we're going to Diagon Alley!"

            "Yep, never been there before," Ron answered under his breath, hoping his mother wouldn't hear.

            Harry finally decided to speak up.  "You know, Ron, it isn't that bad.  It is ten a.m."

            "That's definitely too early."

            Finally, after much hassling from Mrs. Weasley, the two boys got up and got dressed.  Then they walked down the long, winding staircase to the little kitchen.  They weren't surprised to find everyone else finishing their breakfast.

            "You two were late, so you'll just have to get something in the Alley, because we're all ready to go," Said Mrs. Weasley.

            "Fine, fine," said Ron.

            "Okay, so we're all ready to go, then?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

            A chorus of answers rang out in the kitchen.  Then, Mrs. Weasley lined them all up and they took turns using floo powder to travel to Diagon Allley.

            Harry was the second to last to go.  Mr. Weasley was last.  

            "Alright then, Harry.  You know what to do."

            Harry took a little of the floo powder in his hand and threw it into the fire.  He walked into the flames, which licked his body and face, it almost tickled.

            "Dagon Alley!" he said through a cough; the soot was very thick.

            Harry held his arms close to him, and felt very dizzy as he whirled past many fireplaces.  He finally felt his feet hit a floor, and he fell forward.  He hit his head on the top of the fireplace.

            He was happy to realize that he had arrived in Dagon Alley this time.  The last time Harry had traveled by the Floor network, he had turned out in Knockturn Alley, which was crawling with weird things like evil books and potions; cursed items and such.  Even the people had been queer.  That included Malfoy and his father, Lucius, who he'd seen at the store where he ended up, called Borgen and Burkes.

            Harry saw that he was in Flourish and Blotts, a store he had been in several times.  He didn't, however, see the Weasleys.  He decide to walk around the store a little, perhaps they had gone book searching.  He ran into Ron, quite literally, in the Divination section.  

            "Ouch!  Watch it Harry, will you? I almost dropped some book on dreams I'm holding for Hermione, she made me get it for her.  Didn't seem too keen to be seen in the Divination area, I guess.  I'm not about to drop it on the ground, imagine the lecture I'd get!"

            Harry had to agree; Hermione had her beliefs that books are our friends.  There had been many times that Harry or Ron had wondered why she said "our".  No book, other than a photo album Harry had with pictures of his parents, was ever that important to him.

            "Where'd the rest of you go? I almost fell out of the fireplace and hit my head, bye the way.  I couldn't find any of you anywhere."

            "Yeah, well Mum wanted us to get started right away.  Hermione, of course, was very excited.  She ran off right away.  Then five seconds later, she came running back asking me to fetch a book for her."  Ron leaned towards Harry slightly, and whispered.  "Between you and me, I don't think all this reading's good for her eyes.  Of course, if she ever did have vision problems, she wouldn't be able to read all this."

            Harry smiled.  "But then wouldn't she just make us read things to her?" Harry questioned. 

            "Oh yeah, never thought of that," said Ron, looking a little put out.  Then he quickly found about five more books on dreams.  At Harry's confused look, he explained, "In that case, we've got to either get her a ton of books and leave her alone, or just do what she says and stay on her good side."

            Just then Hermione ran towards them.  "Oh, Harry glad you finally arrived.  Do you know where the store clerk is?  I don't know where books on clouds would be.  I'd search by myself, but it's such a big shop."

            "Is that him, over there?" Harry pointed to a tall man with a purple apron that read "Flourish and Blotts Employee" on it.

            "Oh, thank you Harry!" Hermione said, as she dashed off.

            Harry agreed with Ron that Hermione did read a lot, but he was also extremely grateful that she and Ron would help sort out his summer's events.  

            Once everyone had all their books, which took about an hour and a half, they all walked out of the shop and onto the alleyway, bustling with bags.

*          *          *          *

            After they were finished shopping at several other stores and shops, including taking a look into Eyelop's Owl Emporium, spending a great deal of time less then Harry would have liked in the Quidditch supply store, and becoming very bored while Mrs. Weasley helped Ginny find a color dress robes that went with her hair, the entire group decided to sit down for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.  While they were eating, Hermione was reading one of her new books.

            "How many books did you get, Hermione?" Ron asked.  "It had to be a lot more than us, because we only needed three new books."

            " What?" asked Hermione.  "Oh, yes, I got ten," she answered, as if there was nothing unusual about it.

            _"Ten?"_ Ron asked, astounded.  

            Harry added in, " What were the other seven about then?"

            Hermione looked confused.  "Seven?  Oh, I thought you meant the ones I got extra.  I got the five you found me on dreams, three on clouds, one on handwriting analysis, and one for pleasure reading."

            "And what was the pleasure reading one about?" Ron asked.  He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

            "Oh, it's very interesting, or at least it looks it! Here, take a look, go ahead!" Hermione looked genuinely excited.

            Harry looked over at the book she had pushed into Ron's hands.  Ron said exactly what he had been thinking.

            _"Every Witch's Guide to Magic Meals, by Ragusha Rasidovic?"_

            "Doesn't it look great?" Hermione said.

            Harry sensed that a fight to be coming on.  If Ron said cooking was stupid, Hermione would come back with Quidditch being pointless.  Harry would have to choose side, which he hated doing, and it would only end when something great or awful would happen.  He had to say something, and quick.

            "Is this so that you can make meals at school, and not cause the House-Elves too much work?" Harry asked.  It was something that he actually wanted to know.

            Hermione was deep in thought.  " You know what, Harry? I never even thought of it that way, but, yes, that's exactly what I'll do!  We can all eat together in the common room!"  She would have kept going on if Ron hadn't interrupted.  

            "Excuse me, but we? How about you make whatever you like, and Harry and I eat in the Great Hall like everyone else? Plus, the house elves will be doing extra work for food that doesn't get eaten.  Won't that just add to the pointlessness?"

            " Yes, I guess so.  Maybe I'll only do it once in a while," Hermione answered.

            " That I can live with," said Ron.  

*          *          *          *

            It was late in the afternoon when the group arrived back at the Burrow.

Hermione had decided to read.  Ron had said it would be difficult to do in such a loud house.  Especially since Fred and George had loaded up on all sorts of strange things at the joke shop, as well as several strange ingredients at the apothecary.  Harry added that that meant lots of mysterious explosions.  Hermione said maybe he was right, but decided to start a book on clouds anyway.

            Harry and Ron had had an interesting conversation with Fred and George.  They had to yell through the door, as the twins didn't want anyone to know how they were making whatever new food, it almost seemed like they thought someone would want to.  About an hour later they gave up; there were just too many explosions.

            When they returned to Ron's room they found Hermione sitting on the ground, halfway through her book.  "Don't talk for a second, I'm trying to finish this chapter," she said.

            Ron asked what chapter it was, and Hermione said it was seven and shushed him.

            "Okay, I'm finished," she said.  "Harry, I found a lot of information on clouds.  There's a chart in the back here, it explains what the cause of certain clouds are.  There is a special chart for magic clouds.  I figured it had to be magic, because it tried to break into your room.  But I need to know, what color was it?"

She flipped through the pages.

            Harry thought about the cloud.  "It was really dark, like charcoal or even black."

            Hermione searched the pages and glided her finger down several columns.

"Here it is!  A dark grey or black cloud means that it could be from an area of extreme evil.  It could also symbolize that danger is on the way.  That's not too good.  It could mean that there will be a great change in your life.  Aha! This says that if the cloud is trying to harm you or is trying to get to you in any way, it means that there is something that you should know.  Something that is coming very soon, and is extreme danger or could cause you awful pain, terror, or grief.  The last thing it says is that it could be a rain cloud someone charmed to attack you."

            Ron looked a mixture of confused and intimidated.  "Well, someone's definitely trying to do you in this time, Harry!"

            This information was all very helpful to Harry, or he was sure it would be.  If he forgot it, he could just ask Hermione for the book again.  But he was more interested in what it had to say about clouds that tried to break into your home, but turned out to be good in the end.

            "Hey, Hermione? Could I look at the book for a second? I just want to look at the other types of cloud, and see what it says about them," Harry tried to say in a manner so he seemed slightly interested.

            Ron looked quite surprised.  "Harry, since when do you read anything that has a connection to divination? You hate it almost as much as Potions!"

            "Yeah, it's just, in case a cloud comes back, I'll know off the top of my head if it's good or bad.  It would be easier to have it chase me to the library, and then find out what it is."

            "If you say so," Ron said.  He still looked relatively amazed.

            "Of course you can have the book to borrow, Harry.  I think it's wonderful that you're trying to expand your intelligence when we're on holiday."  Hermione handed the book to Harry and smiled smugly at Ron, who scowled.

*          *          *          *  
  


            After a delicious dinner of roast turkey, Harry rested himself in a comfy chair in the Weasleys' living room and cracked open the book on clouds.  

            The title was The Sky's the Limit by Cordelia Cirrus.  Harry noticed that on each page of the last chapter was a description of a different type of cloud, with pictures of how some could move very quickly.  Harry leafed through the book, and finally saw a picture that matched his "evil cloud".  It said it was called a cirulimbus.  He read that they were very rare, only three had been spotted in the last two centuries!   He found one paragraph that he had come to know as the most useful:

                        _Cirulimbus clouds are almost never found in the United Kingdom.  It is very good news for the people of this area, because cirulimbus clouds usually depict that a tragedy is too come in the near future.  The last three that have been spotted were:  in Central Europe before the start of World War I, in Russia before the last czar was killed, and in the United States before the Salem Witch Trials.  The last reported that appeared in the United Kingdom was in August 1666, before the Great Fire in London.  These clouds sometimes become very bright and luminous once they break through a barrier so that they are with the person they're after.  They, in most cases {out of the few that have been}, show pictures of deceased people that were closely related to the cloud's "victim".  These can sometimes be the actual people talking, or they can be an evil acting as them.  It is difficult to tell, but there are a few ways. One is to ask it a personal question, if it is an evil, it will not know the answer.  Another is to wait it out, and see how often it returns.  If it is an evil, it most likely will never return.  The last, and most difficult, way is to collect some of the mist in an Austrian crystal phial.  It must be this kind of phial.  You then mix in the following ingredients:_

_            1 dragon heartstring_

_            3 pebbles from the bottom of a dream pool, must be crushed by hand_

_            1 phial full of unicorn blood_

_            2 leaves from a mosaic plant_

_            and finally _

_            1 quarter-phial crushed sand of a Philosopher's Stone_

_You mix the ingredients above and the phial of mist in an anthracite cauldron and mix in 3 phials luke water.  A light steam will float above.  Collect this in another, clean, Austrian crystal phial.  Shake three times.  If the mist turns green, it was truly the deceased person who visited.  If it is red, blue or purple, it was evil._

            Harry read this many times.  He'd have to wait it out.  It was too late to ask it a question, and he couldn't collect mist because he had glass phials, and he'd never seen Austrian crystal ones before.  Plus, the ingredients were harder to find than even those for the Polyjuice Potion.  He didn't know where he'd find a dragon heartstring, and no apothecary would dare sell unicorn blood, let alone stock it.  Harry didn't know what a dream pool was.  The mosaic plant he'd never heard of, but he had a feeling it was in greenhouse four with the other dangerous plants.  But a quarter phial crushed sand from a Philosopher's Stone? That had to be impossible.  The last known one existing was destroyed.

The last one known.

            He didn't realize that it was very late, and tomorrow he, Ron, Fred and George had planned a Quidditch game out in the paddock.  He had to get up early.

            Just then, Hermione appeared.  She looked shocked.  "Harry," she said nervously, "You better come see this."

            Harry followed her to Ron's room.

            Ron started talking as soon as he came in.  "We were just talking, and it hit the roof! The ghoul in the attic frightened it half t death, it was going crazy all over the room!"

            Harry stared.

            In Ron's hands was an owl.  The same crazy owl that had delivered the last two letters from P.1 Rebirth.  Ron was struggling to hold it.  Harry looked quickly out the window.  Just then, a bolt of lightening slashed across the indigo sky, and thunder boomed.  Harry looked back at the owl.

Clamped in it's talons was a tiny scroll.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Another long chapter!  These are getting harder and harder to write! 

I was wondering why everyone thinks that Dumbledore's the evil and that Ron and Hermione are going to die.  Is it because Dumbledore's eyes looked like they almost twinkled when he found out that Voldemort could touch Harry without melting?

Words of Wisdom: In the year 3054, possessed turtles wearing sunglasses will attack the world chanting, "Boom shaka laka laka! Boom shaka laka laka!

Read Review Rejoice!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	8. Not only Night Will Fall

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: Do I really need to remind all of you that I don't own Harry Potter?  J. K. Rowling does.  As if you didn't know.  It's really pointless, no one reads these anyway.  Except me.  Every fanfic that I read, I read the whole thing, disclaimer, author notes; shout out, recommendations, and of course the story.  If you are reading this, go you!

Author's Note: I just updated yesterday, but I feel like writing another chapter.  This chapter is going to be… at the Burrow! And,… at Mr. Weasley's office! Yay! 

You know the drill. The three R's people! It does have a nice ring to it.

Read.

Review.

Rejoice.

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Seven**

****

            "What should we do, Harry?" Hermione said.  "We can't seem to calm it down!"  She looked like she was panicking.

            Harry didn't find it all that panic worthy.  "Just let it fly around the room, it'll calm down eventually.  Then we can get the scroll from it."

            Hermione looked very surprised.  "I didn't even see the scroll! It must be another letter from P.1 Rebirth!"

            Ron looked exhausted.  "Of course I noticed the scroll, it's unrolling a little, and I must have seven paper cuts by now!"  He was trying to hold the owl for a few more seconds.  

            Ron finally gave up and let it loose.  He grimaced and turned his hands over several times.

            Harry saw that Ron's hands were very red, and were covered with thin cuts and scratches.  "You really should have let it go sooner," he said to his friend.

            "I didn't really want to lose to an owl.  I have a reputation to keep up!"

            Hermione was flipping through a thick hardbound book, which was really no surprise.  Harry thought it must have a cure for scratches.

            "Here, Ron," she said, pointing to a spell.  "Go downstairs with this book, and have your mum fix you up with this spell."

            Ron didn't want to miss out on the action just as much as he didn't want to be bossed around by Hermione.  But his hands hurt so much there seemed that there was no alternative.  He balanced the book on the insides of his arms and left the room.  Down the hall, you could hear him let out a yelp as the book fell on his foot.

            Harry brought his eyes back to the owl.  It was lying on Ron's bed; breathing so heavily that the whole bed shook.

            Harry slowly unwound the scroll from the owl's leg.  It was most difficult to do; it was wound around one leg, but a second piece of parchment was clamped in its talons.

            Finally, Harry had both pieces.  He read the letter out loud in a whisper so that Hermione could hear.

                                                                                                _Dear Harry,_

_            Today is August the 25th.  In one week, you return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  In one week, you will be shaken by sudden change.  In one month, your team will begin practicing for the upcoming season.  In one month, you may wonder, "What season?"  Things are changing, Harry Potter, and things are changing fast.  Ordinary as it may seem now, the queerness is about to arrive.  If you have seen change that seemed it would never occur, perhaps in character of people you know or even yourself, you haven't seen anything yet.  Beware the two sides, avoid favoring one, thought it may seem evident to do so.  You need to be careful of much more than your enemies now._

_Even if all of your enemies came together, they would never seem noticeable next to Evil that has yet to pass.  Evil won't pass, truly, it will arrive and stay until it is satisfied.  In one year, you may think your life as a sixth year will begin._

_            In one year, your life as anything may not exist._

_                                                                                                Sincerely,_

_P.1 Rebirth_

            "Someone's really got it in for you," Hermione said.  Maybe she tried to be nonchalant about saying it, but there was a look of terror on her face.

            "Tell me about it," Harry answered.

            Just then, Ron ran into the room.  "What did I miss?  Did I miss anything?"

            Hermione said, "Nothing too important, here, read this," she said handing the letter to him.  Harry and Hermione stared at him while he read it.

            Ron looked back at them after he'd finished.  "Sure it was nothing important, it's just about something out to get Harry again," Ron said sarcastically.

            "But you didn't miss everything, there's still another piece of parchment to go," Harry reminded him.

            Ron looked slightly happier.  "Read it then, go on."

            Harry unrolled the parchment and saw that it consisted of only one statement, written in large sloppy handwriting in rich red ink that was not the same writing that P.1 Rebirth used.  He, Ron and Hermione all read it and gasped.

            _Beware, Harry Potter, tomorrow it begins._

            Hermione looked more frightened than Harry had ever seen her.  She seemed unable to open her mouth.  She touched the lettering on the parchment and the ink rubbed off onto her hand.  She only said one thing.

            "Harry, it's written in blood!"

*          *            *            *

            Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn't sleep that night.

            There was still the terrible storm outside, and the tree branches scratching the windows and the ghoul clanging on the pipes didn't help much, either.

            The three had decided to all stay in Ron's room that night, they thought it might be safer that way.  

            Eventually, Harry knew that Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep.  He knew because Ron snored and Hermione talked.  He never knew that Hermione talked in her sleep, she didn't seem the type that would.

            Then again, she was rambling about potions homework.

            Thunder clapped outside, and Harry saw a lightening bolt part the dark sky.  His hand came to his forehead, where his scar felt smooth and cold.

            He realized how ridiculous it was that he was awake at this hour, so he turned over and closed his eyes.

Harry Potter is smart, but he apparently did not remember the last time he did this.

            He heard something.  It was quiet, barely audible.  It faded into soft whispers.  He could almost make out what they were saying.  He stopped breathing, just so that he could hear them better.  It seemed as though they were growing louder, and he had a funny feeling his not breathing didn't help much.  He let out a breath, and the whispers stopped.  This was getting stupid; he got out of bed and walked to the window.  He looked down at the Weasley's front lawn and the street not far beyond it.

            There were four children, and they were standing on the sidewalk, they had to be the same ones he saw from Privet Drive, because one of them had a large dog with them.  Harry realized that they weren't really children; they actually looked about his age.  One of the girls, Harry recognized her from last time, looked up at Harry.  She had also been the first to look at him last time.  The others saw where she was looking and also looked toward Harry.  Harry took this chance to look each of them in the eyes, though he couldn't really see their eyes.  There were two girls and two guys.  That was all he could tell through the night darkness.  There were five of them, including Harry; five blank stares.  Finally one of the girls looked at one of her friends and started whispering.  The two guys stopped staring and joined the conversation.  It was now just one girl and Harry left in this staring game.  Then she did something Harry didn't expect.

She smiled.

            It wasn't just the fact that she smiled at him, but that even through the darkness of night Harry could tell it was genuine.  He smiled back.  

            Eventually, she looked at her friends said something, and they started to continue down the street.  The girl turned one last time, as if she knew Harry would still be staring, and smiled a final time.  

            That was one of the last times Harry saw the four of them together.

*          *            *            *

            Harry awoke the next morning to several yells from outside.  He looked around; apparently Ron and Hermione had just woken up, too.

            Hermione looked very annoyed and tired.  "Where, is it coming from?"

            Ron, who was too tired to talk, pointed to the window.

            The three of them got up and walked over.  There were two things outside that could have caused the yelling.  The first was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, she was apparently yelling at her husband because he had to miss another day at home to go to the ministry.  Ron explained that she had to go shopping 'for one thing or another' today, and couldn't be home to supervise them.  The other thing that could cause the yelling was the group of people that were playing street hockey.

Harry knew that this was a neighborhood where there were very few muggles, and hockey was not a wizard sport.  He was very confused.  So was Ron, he had no idea what they were doing with 'those shoes with wheels, trying to hit a flat, black snitch into weird goals with weird broomsticks'.  Hermione, with extreme patience which was needed for Ron's many questions {But what's up with the warped broomsticks?}, explained it to him.  It took Harry ten minutes of watching them play too realize that they were the fours kids from last night.  His thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Weasley yelling up to them, "Ron, Harry, Hermione! You lot are coming with me to work today!  Go wake up Ginny, too, will you?"

            Rom mumbled something under his breath.  Harry wasn't sure what he had said, but he was almost positive it wasn't very nice. He, Ron, and Hermione got dressed quickly, woke Ginny, waited for her to get ready, ate a very quick breakfast, and went out onto the Weasley's front lawn.  The four teenagers were still playing hockey.  They all smiled and waved at Ron, Harry, and Hermione.  Ron looked curiously at them and said hi.  Harry smiled at all of them.  Hermione, who was always extremely polite, went all out.  

            "Hello, how are you all today?" she started.  The four teenagers all gave her very different reactions.  One raised an eyebrow up past his bangs.  One girl smiled and nodded.  The other boy half waved, but looked very confused.  The last girl, the one who smiled at Harry the night before, came up to the three of them.

            "Hi.  We're all fine, thanks for asking.  How are you?"  she asked very politely.

            Hermione was _very_ pleased.  "We're all fine, too.  I'm Hermione Granger by the way, who are you?"

            "Kylie D'Alessandro, and this is Jade Iverson, Tomas Lopez, and Max Brennan." She pointed to three people that all looked foreign. The girl looked like she might be Chinese, a boy that looked Mexican, and one other guy who also looked Hispanic.  Kylie saw that Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed this, and decided to speak up.  " All of us are from different countries, originally.  I, for example, was born in England, but my father left, so my mom and I moved to the U.S."

            "I'm from Mexico, but I still live there," said Tomas.

            "Are you from Mexico, too?" Ron asked Max.

            "No," Max answered.  "A lot of people think that, but I'm actually from Argentina."

            Ron's face went red as his hair.  "Oh, sorry."  Max smiled.

            "I am from China, but I actually live in Canada," added Jade.

            Hermione loved meeting new people, and was eager to know more about them.  "So how did you all meet?  I mean, you all live so far apart."

            Kylie smiled at her.  "The four of us go to The International School of Magic in Los Angeles," she explained.  Harry's thoughts were answered, they weren't muggles after all.

            "Oh, that must be so great! Meeting people from all over the world!" Hermione exclaimed.

            By now Tomas, Jade, and Max had all gone back to their game.  

            "It really is, but my mom and I decided to move back to England, and she wants me to go to a more local school," Kylie answered.

            "Really? Where are you going to attend?" Hermione asked her.  Harry could tell what Hermione wanted her to say.

            "Oh, I'm going to Hogwarts," Kylie answered.

            "That's where we go! Oh, you must think I'm so rude for not introducing you to my friends! This is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," Haermione said very quickly.

            "It's not rude at all.  Pleasure to meet you," Kylie said.  Then she looked a little uncomfortable.  "Since we'll be going to the same school, I should probably tell you I don't talk this polite on normal terms.  My other, she's always pressured me to use such proper manners."

            Harry finally decided to speak.  "Well, Hermione isn't always this talkative,. Unless she's going on about a book." Hermione went pink.

            Kylie smiled even more.  "Oh, you like reading? I love it!" she told Hermione.

            Hermione glanced at Harry, her face very satisfied.  "Yes, I absolutely love reading."

            Just then Mr. Weasley interrupted.  "Time to go all of you!"  It seemed that Ginny was finally ready.

            "Well, see you at school!" Hermione said to Kylie.

            Kylie nodded and went back to her hockey game.

            The group going to the ministry office traveled by floo powder again.

            When it was Harry's turn, he threw the powder into the flames and walked into the fire while saying, "Ministry of Magic!"

            He kept his arms close to him, tilted his head forward, and stuck his legs together as he swirled through the sea of firplaces.

            *            *            *            *

            Harry had to snap his arms forward very quickly to keep himself from falling onto a marble floor that was exceptionally cold.  He stood up, and wiped some dust of his clothes.  He looked at the new surroundings.

            He was in a very grand hall.  Practically everything was marble, the columns, the floor, the walls, the numerous staircases.  There were colored busts of men and women Harry guessed must have been past ministers of magic.  The only difference between these and regular busts was that they were moving their heads, and actually talking to people.  There were also several large moving portraits of people.  They each had a gold-plaited sign beneath it that said the name of the person.  Ron told Harry that they were great witches and wizards.  There were about ten doors on each side of the hall.  Mr. Weasley told them that they were each of the offices.  His was in the very far right corner near the back.  

            It was very nice, for a door.  There was a silver sign that said "Misuse of Muggle Artifacts", and beneath it another silver sign that read two names: Arthur Weasley and one other name that had been scratched off.  Harry looked at Ron, remembering their conversation.  Ron looked like he was in pain just looking at the sign.  He finally closed his eyes and looked away.  

            "Oh Dad, can we go in? Can I sit in your special chair _please?"_ asked Ginny excitedly.  

            Harry expected the office to be somewhat important looking.  

It was far from it.  

            It was very messy, for one thing.  Papers were floating around all over the place.  There were many pens and manila folders spread across a rather small desk.  There was a small wastebasket in the far corner that was overflowing with crumpled papers.  The 'special chair' Ginny was talking about might have been nice looking once, but it was worn leather that was torn in several places.  Harry did notice, however, then instead of being on four legs, it was levitating.

            Mr. Weasley looked slightly red in the face.  "Well, I've had a lot of paperwork lately.  It usually isn't this messy.  Maybe I should give you a tour of the building first though, so I can clean it up later.  It's rather shameful for me to look at."

            "Yes, I think I'd be ashamed, too, if my office looked like that," said a cold voice from outside of the office.

            "Lucius, how nice to see you," Mr. Weasley said without turning around, a grimace on his face.

            "And how, pleasant, to see you," Malfoy's father continued.  It was then Harry noticed that Draco Malfoy was there, also.  "I see you've brought along you're whole clan today.  Where is the rest of your family?  Dear me, are they out working so that you'll have enough money to live in your house?  And you have a large family, too, Arthur."

            Mr. Weasley looked about to explode.  "Please leave, Lucius, I have work to do."

            "Work? Are you showing your children, and oh my, other people's children how to make more money for you?  I knew you could sink low, Arthur, but I didn't think this low," Lucius said.  He continued.

            "Me, I'm just showing Draco here what he'll get to do once he graduate's Hogwarts.  He'll have a very good job, of course, unlike some graduates of that school," said Mr. Malfoy, making every word sting.  "I really must go now.  It was, _nice,_ having this little chat with you." Draco smirked at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny as the two walked away.

            Mr. Weasley was trying to calm himself down.  "Someday, I'll find  something to get him for.  Just you wait."

            "Go Dad!" said Ron appreciatively.  

            "Thank you, Ron.  I'm going to go wash my face so I can finish giving you the tour when I'm in a better mood.  Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes."

            The four went back into the office, where they discussed that when they got back to Hogwarts, they'd have to do something really bad to Draco Malfoy.

It was becoming a really elaborate conversation, even Ginny was coming up with ideas.

            Then something caught Harry's eye.  It was a piece of paper, and there was red script on it.  He showed it to Ron and Hermione, who froze.  Ginny looked very confused.  

            "What? What is it?" she asked.

            Harry unfolded the paper so that they could see the full statement.  Hermione touched the writing, and it was indeed wet blood.  Harry could not explain how it was still wet.  He read the statement, and Hermione and Ron did, too.  Then, they just looked at each other. It read:

            At sunset tonight, darkness won't be the only thing that falls.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Well, that was eventful!  

Words of Wisdom: That excuse for talking on the phone for "five more minutes", your parents always know it will be longer than that.

How'd y'all like it? To have your opinion on this matter heard, click the "Go" button next the  "Review" thingy.  

Read.

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Randomness Rocks!

Cheers!

I love you all!

~Starry


	9. Fire and Ice

**The Fifth House**

****

Disclaimer: Duh.  Need I type it?

For the sake of not being sued, I do not own Harry Potter.

I do own the plot, a few characters, and thats all folks!

So HAH!  
  


Author's Note:  Hi! *waves happily*  It's only been two days but I fell like I've been away from my story for years.  Weird!

Anyway, The Ever-changing third version of the 3R's!

Read.

Review.

Rent a video.

Sorry, I'm running out of r's.

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Eight**

****

            Needless to say, I'm sure, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were very cautious on the way home that day.  Though it was only late afternoon when they left, whatever was going to happen to come early.  You just never know.

Or do you?

            What could _fall_ tonight at sunset?  Other than darkness, Harry really couldn't think of anything.  It wasn't just him that was worrying; Ron looked extremely nervous and was jumping at everything, and Hermione was a wreck, she was shaking, and kept darting her eyes around.

              Mr. Weasley was very suspicious of the three of them; he kept asking them if they were all right.  

            Ginny, on the other hand, was even more confused than her father.  Ron told her she couldn't tell anyone what she saw happen with the note.  Ron wasn't actually sure if she had known what it said, but still.

You just never know.

            Hermione was very worked up about this.  She was a nervous wreck trying to find out what else could fall at sunset, and this was only half of it.  The other half was good old Hermione, distressed because she didn't know the answer to a question.  

            Ron was very deep in concentration.  It was easy to see from his expression that he thought something looked familiar, and was hiding in the back of his mind.  He kept muttering to himself, and shaking his head.  At random moments he would stop and look straight ahead or close his eyes.  He would stay like that for a minute or so.  He would come out of his trance just as he was before he went into it.

            Harry was the worst of them all, but looked perfectly calm, cool, and collected.  He was thinking the note over very carefully.  This was the second time he was contacted by anonymous, and both times were warnings.  He just couldn't get it, who were they from?  How did they manage to get to him, through the strangest places?  At first it seemed that maybe P.1 Rebirth had a partner, and that was why the two scrolls were both with the same owl.  But the second note was in Mr. Weasley's office, which completely baffled Harry.  Who knew that he would be there?  Was it even addressed to him?  Or was it a note for Mr. Weasley? For all he knew, half of he wizarding world could be getting theses notes.  It seemed unlikely, but who was to say it wasn't true?

Unlikely as it was, Evil was an unlikely thing.

            Mr. Weasley finished the tour, which seemed pointless, as Ginny was the only one who could really pay attention.

            Harry was afraid that when they were using the floo powder to return to the Burrow, someone would say the wrong thing.

            Harry took some powder in his hand, tossed it into the flames, which to him looked hungry for it, and loudly said, "The Burrow!" as he walked into them.

            Once he had arrived at the Weasleys' he was relieved to know that everyone had arrived in the right place.  Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione wore looks of relief also.  Mrs. Weasley took no notice of the wary looks on their faces.

            "Dinner is in a few minutes, wash your hands!" she chirped.

            The three looked at each other.  Then Ron spoke up.  

            "We really aren't hungry, mum," he said.

            Just as she was about to persist, Mr. Weasley put a hand on her arm and shook his head, a serious look on his face.  Mrs. Weasley gave the three a questioning look; they had better have good excuses for missing her home cooked dinner.  She turned and went back to preparing the meal.

            "Thanks, dad," Ron said, smiling meekly at his father.  Mr. Weasley smiled back, though nothing could overpower the look of concern on his face.

            It was decided unanimously that Harry, Hermione and Ron would go outside to talk by maple tree in the front yard, though all they needed were looks from each other to know the vote was final.

            Each knew they needed time to think, with peace and quiet by themselves, but each wanted to be nowhere alone.  It was almost as though they were alone, no one was talking.  But the peace and quiet was a different issue.  Kylie, Max, Jade, and Tomas were still playing hockey.  And they made a very loud noise when anyone scored a goal.

            Harry knew he needed to think, but also knew that he couldn't think straight if he didn't clear his mind for five minutes or so.  He decided to watch the hockey game.

            It appeared that there were two teams, Kylie and Jade versus Max and Tomas.  Harry watched as Max and Tomas got goal after goal after goal.  It was strange the way Kylie and Jade didn't seem to be trying.  But that all changed once Max announced that it was getting darker, and they should stop in five minutes.

Harry noticed Jade give Kylie a little smile, and then both girls nodded their heads.

            "Okay, let's take care of this," Kylie said to Jade.

            "We let them get too far ahead, we might actually lose," Jade feigned.

            Max and Tomas gave each other confused looks.  

            The last minutes of the game began.  Kylie and Jade actually had amazing technique; they just didn't show it at first.  They got a string of goals until they were tied with the boys.  Kylie grinned at Tomas and Max.  Jade was grinning, too.  Max caught Harry's eye and rolled his eyes towards Kylie.  Harry laughed.  Apparently this happened a lot.  Kylie was about to slap the puck into the goal, when she suddenly stopped.

Strike One.

            "It's too dark, game over, we tied, good game," she said very quickly, shaking Tomas and Max's hands.  

            Tomas looked bewildered.  "But, I don't get it, you could have won, you had the perfect shot!"

            "We did win.  It's called a victory with honor," Jade explained.  

            Tomas and Max gave each other looks that said, ' We could have seen that coming'.

            Harry looked back at Ron and Hermione.  Each of them was holding one of the notes written in blood.  Harry saw that Hermione was rubbing her fingers across the print, as if trying to see if there was some wet blood left.  Harry looked back to the four hockey players on the street.  They were all looking at the letters in Ron and Hermione's hands.  Harry knew they couldn't read them, but he didn't really want them to see them anyway.

Strike Two.

            Harry saw that the sky was darker, but that the sun was just preparing to go down.  He elbowed Ron and nodded to the horizon, and Ron told Hermione.  

            There were seven faces looking at the sunset.  Seven faces who did not know that they would never be seven together again.  Neither the group of four or the group of three ever thought they'd all meet again.  Maybe a couple at a time, but they never thought they'd all be together again.

They were right.

            They didn't know what to expect, but they all knew something was coming.  

            Harry sighed and gulped.  He, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other, they weren't sure exactly what was coming after all.  They all had a right to be afraid.  'Yeah,' Harry thought, 'they have a right to be scared of this.'  He watched the sun slowly descend beyond the horizon.

Three strikes, you're out.

*          *            *            *

A voice somewhere very far away was watching the same sun set.  As soon as the sun was gone, the voice said, "It's time."

            At that moment, Evil opened its eyes.  It was just waking up from a long rest.  

            Hogwarts castle, itself, had several brief changes.  At that one second when the sun went down, the water on the lake had been tapped from under it.  A ripple spread across the entire lake.  Once the lake was all rippling, only for one second did this happen, a pale blue light, almost an aura, shone around the edge.  Also at that second, a sudden wind picked up out of nowhere, a wind so strong it could blow you far away, even thought it only lasted one second.  A beautiful tree in the Forbidden Forest, the tallest tree to be exact, fell down.  Another thing that happened in that sliver of time was that every single fireplace in the castle, from the grand one in the entrance hall to the smaller ones in the common rooms, a fire burst into the air.  The roaring flames hovered above the cold stone floor of the fireplace for one second before going out quickly.  All of these things happened in one second, the same second, and then stopped as if nothing had happened, with the exception of the tree that had fallen down.  Only one other thing happened at that second.

            An icy cold pain that turned white hot flashed through Harry's scar.

Harry Potter did not know.

            It was August 31,1995.  The four powers of Terces had awakened.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  That chapter was fun!  The weird narrator stuff I do to explain eerie things that happened. 

Words of Wisdom:  Everyone hears what you say; friends listen to what you say; best friends listen to what you don't say.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked it.  I won't post another chapter until I get, like, three reviews for this one.  I don't care what kind of reviews {though it'd be cool if someone could write a rhyming one}.  

So, do me a favor.  Click on the little blue box.  You know the one.  The left corner.  Yes, _that_ box.

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	10. Lost Reason

**The Fifth House**

****

Disclaimer: I can't say it.  No I won't even bother.  It's too much to waste my precious finger strength 

{lol} typing.  So do me a favor and guess what I'd say {type?}.

Author's Note: Hi! I hope everyone has had a wonderful day! It was snowing in my city that no one's heard of, ever and I mean ever!  Well, half snowing.  

Anyway, 

Read

Review

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Recite? I really am losing R's.  Suggest some in your reviews if you can…

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Nine**

            Harry never did sleep that night.  How could any one really expect him to?  He was getting all these letters that say something evil would happen that night.  It wasn't just the letters that got at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  

It was that they'd been written in _blood…_

            Harry never truly learned that closing his eyes at night when he was fully awake was a bad idea.  This time, though, it was different.

The whispers weren't the same this time.  

            Sure enough, a few seconds after Harry closed his eyes, the whispers returned.  They sounded different tonight, not like Harry remembered the four whispering before.  Since it was unlikely he'd get any sleep, he got up and walked to Ron's window.  He saw four people on the street, and realized why the whispers had been different.

The children were different.

            There were four of them, like Kylie, Tomas, Max, and Jade.  They all looked different ages, though.  One of them looked significantly younger than two of them Harry guessed had to be the oldest.  The oldest, it seemed, looked very strange.  She had long, brown hair, and wore it down.  But her clothes somewhat resembled something you'd think Professor Trelawney would wear.  She wore lots of jewelry, and white robes.  The other three looked slightly different, also.  

            One wore dark robes that Harry couldn't determine the color of, but he also wore a necklace with a very odd amulet.  Another girl wore scarlet robes, and Harry didn't notice at first that she had a snake draped around her shoulders like a scarf.  The last boy wore shockingly blue robes, and he was the only normal looking one.  

            Harry couldn't tell what they were saying, but this time he wasn't sure he wanted to know.  

            He watched them for a while, but he kept feeling that he shouldn't, they didn't seem the type to spy on…

Not tonight, at least.

            Harry was the one watching them, but he had a feeling that someone, somewhere, was watching him.  He looked back into the room; Ron and Hermione were still sleeping, though restlessly.  He turned back to the window, and to his surprise, one of the girls was staring at him.

It was a most unpleasant stare.

            She looked not happy, not sad.  She didn't look mad, but she didn't appear annoyed either.  Harry looked into her eyes, then he realized the strangest thing about her.

She had dark amethyst colored eyes.  

            Harry noticed that he was now being stared at by all of them.  One boy was shaking his head slowly.  He didn't say anything, but Harry thought he could be thinking, 'You shouldn't have done that.'

            But what had Harry done? It wasn't as if he had hexed them, he couldn't, it was still summer holiday.  Actually, Harry looked as his watch, which read 12:18, today was September 1st, today Harry was returning to Hogwarts.  

            He couldn't believe that he hadn't realized it earlier.  It was something he looked forward to every summer.  Not the work part, but the part about being somewhere that he truly belonged.  Harry didn't realize how lucky he was.

Because some people don't belong.

            Finally, Harry had found something good in his life.  His return to Hogwarts was like a miracle compared to the hard life Harry had over the summer.  

Maybe at Hogwarts, he'd find out that everything was a dream.  Maybe, just maybe, things could be okay.

But things can't be okay, not at the beginning, which is so confusing and perilous.  

            Harry had to get some sleep.  He'd be awaking up early tomorrow, so he could catch the Express to Hogwarts.

He took a final few seconds looking at the children before returning to the room and drifting to sleep.

But the children watched him still.

*          *            *            *

            "Oh, Ronnie! Harry! Hermione! Fred! George! Ginny! Wake up!" Mrs. Weasley sang up the staircase.

            From the numerous landings in this particular household groans could be heard.  Yells of complaint echoed down the stairs.  All over the house people were waking and stretching.  

            Harry, however, was happy to wake up.  After the encounter with the strange children last night, he'd had a rough sleep.  In his dreams he'd felt eyes on him.  He felt like someone was monitoring his every move, but he never knew who it was.  

            He got up, stretched, and got dressed quickly.  Ron was just getting out of his bed when Harry was leaving the room.  "How can you be awake?" Ron asked him through a yawn.

            "I'm just happy to get back to Hogwarts, that's all," Harry answered.

            "Hogwarts is like your sanctuary, isn't it Harry?" asked Hermione from the doorway.

            Harry nodded.  It was true.  It was difficult to feel unsafe there.  As long as you're on school grounds.  

            Harry felt more enjoyment that morning than he had for most of the summer.  He, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George all ate a tasty breakfast before traveling in cars, Mr. Weasley got them from the ministry, to Kings Cross Station.

            It was quite a hassle trying to get all of them onto Platform 9 ¾ without the muggles getting too suspicious.  They had to go through the barrier in groups pf two or three.  Hermione, who was so excited to return to all the learning fun, accidentally ran into the wrong platform.  The muggles were very suspicious.

            Harry was excited too, but he'd already had experiences with running into platforms; he didn't need to be told twice to check the numbers.  Even Fred and George were excited.  It was their seventh year, and they had little time to terrorize the teachers a few last times.  It was their last chance to drive the school crazy.  Ginny didn't seem too happy to get back to lessons, but she was happy to see her friends again.  Ron was more pessimistic about it, he only saw it as being trapped in more stuffy classrooms or freezing dungeons with cranky professors.  Not to mention getting to see his favorite enemies again.

            It took Harry a few seconds to discover why an expression of hate came over Ron's face.  Then he turned around and saw Malfoy with his body guards he referred to as friends, Crabbe and Goyle.  

            "What do you want," Harry asked Malfoy.  

            "Since when is it illegal for a guy to try to bring up conversation with his favorite foe?" Malfoy asked.

            "That would be a legitimate question, Malfoy, if you actually wanted to have a conversation with us.  But you don't, obviously, so why don't you just leave?" Hermione suggested.

            "That hurts, Granger, it really hurts right here," Malfoy feigned, bringing his fist to his heart.  Then he, Crabbe, and Goyle sauntered off.

            "Funny, I never knew his heart could hurt.  Didn't know he had a heart, actually," Ron said.

            If there was one thing Harry wasn't looking forward to at Hogwarts, it was the Slytherins.  As a group they were just awful people.  They all were either mean, conceited, annoying, or all of the above.  Or at least most of them were.  Harry didn't know for sure.

No one liked to mix with the Slytherins.

            A high-pitched whistle blew from the engine of the train.  Harry, Ron and Hermione were among the last to board; they were doomed to find a compartment that wasn't empty.

            "Hey Hermione! Ron!  Harry! Wait up, you guys!" a voice called from behind them.  

            The three turned around to see Kylie.  She was getting help loading her luggage from a Hufflepuff prefect.  She smiled and waved at them.  

            "Hi Kylie!" Hermione said, happily.  "We almost thought you'd miss the train."

            "I almost thought I'd miss the train, too.  I got lost," Kylie said.

            "Oh, that's too bad, where were you lost?" Hermione asked.

            "I'm not sure where, but it seems apparent to me now that you can't trust anyone to give you directions these days," replied Kylie.

            Hermione laughed and went on about how true it was.  She and Kylie were about to go into a huge conversation about the topic, but then the whistle blew again and they had to board.

            Harry had been slightly dreading this moment.  By now there could be no empty seats.  Maybe they could sit with Fred and George, they usually had their own compartment.

            However, Fred and George were squeezed into a compartment with all of the other Gryffindor seventh years.  Harry recognized Lee Jordan, a friend of Freda and George's, as well as Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, two chasers from the Gryffindor quidditch team.  

            They tried to find Ginny, but they decided she must be farther up the train with her friends.  Finally, there was only one compartment left.  They couldn't have prevented it.  Even if they had gotten on the train earlier, they would still had to have introduced Kylie to everyone.  There couldn't have been anything they could do to keep it from happening.  No, Harry realized.  It we hadn't had that little chat with Malfoy this wouldn't have happened.  They wasted time, and now they had to face consequences.

            There were only three people in the last compartment.  They were Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.   'Everyone's favorite people,' Harry thought sarcastically.  

            "What do you want?" Malfoy asked them.

            "There's a little problem, there isn't any more space on the train," Hermione explained.

            Malfoy raised and eyebrow, then glared at them.  "So we're stuck with you then?"

            "More like we're trapped with you," Ron snapped.

            Malfoy grinned evilly.  "Well," he said, "At least if anything happens, Potter can save us all."  His eyes glowed with malice.

            Harry glared back at him.  Ron and Hermione were both shooting death looks too.

            "Excuse me, I hate to interrupt this, er, lovely conversation, but I'm confused," Kylie said from where she was standing next to Hermione.

            "Who are you supposed to be?" Malfoy asked her.  He looked surprised, he must've not seen her.

            "I'm not supposed to be anyone, but I am Kylie D'Alessandro.  Who are you?" she asked.

            "The name's Malfoy.  Draco Malfoy," he answered.

            Kylie looked amused.  "Are you trying to be James Bond?" she asked him, suppressing a grin.

            "Who?" Malfoy asked.

            "No one, it just reminded me of some movie star guy," Kylie answered.  "You three wouldn't happen to be in Slytherin, would you?" she asked them.

            "Yes, we are in Slytherin, what importance is that to you?" Malfoy asked with a glared.

            Kylie groaned and shook her head with her eyes closed.  "It's all a nightmare, it's all a nightmare…" she said.  "Can I sit down by the way?"

            "If you must," Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.

            "Kylie, are you in Slytherin?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to her.

            Kylie nodded yes.  "I had a conversation with the sorting hat over a telephone Dumbledore hooked up somehow.  It could've made a mistake.  I don't think so."

            "I know from experience, that the Sorting Hat can't make mistakes.  It just doesn't happen," Harry said sadly.  He didn't understand why she was in Slytherin.  She was very nice.  She was one of those people that you wouldn't think could sum up the guts to squish an ant.  It didn't seem right.  

            "Wow, you sure don't act like a Slytherin," Ron said, obviously very surprised.  Hermione glared at him.  Kylie looked up.

            "Slytherin's don't have the best reputations, do they?" she asked.  

            "Definitely not," Ron answered.

            "Did you ever think through your thick head that maybe its all the other houses that have the bad names?" Draco spoke up.

            "Well, the name generally is related to the word slither, which one would associate with a snake.  Which isn't among the most liked of animals, and also is the Slytherin symbol," Hermione explained.

            "Thank you so much for the joy you just brought me," Kylie said sarcastically.

            Hermione looked surprised.  That was a more Slytherin-like comment to come from Kylie.  

            "Well there's got to be something we can do! We have to talk to Dumbledore, or that crazy hat," Ron suggested.  He was fighting a losing war.  Harry could just picture all of them and Dumbledore having a conference with a hat.  It may be the wizard world, but that doesn't make things any easier to make sense of.

            "I've heard of the Sorting Hat before I transferred, Ron.  There is absolutely nothing we can do to change it's mind, my dad told me so," Kylie said glumly.  

            "Did your dad got to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

            "Yeah, but he was where he was supposed to be.  He had all these great friends from his house; he didn't know too many jerks.  There were one or two people he hated, but whose life would be complete without a nemesis?" Kylie answered.  

            "What house was he in?" Harry asked again.

            "You're pretty interested in this, aren't you?" Kylie asked him.  "He was in Gryffindor.  My mom didn't go to Hogwarts, but they had six different house things at her school, and she was in the one most similar to Slytherin, in case you wanted to know."

            To be honest, Gryffindor was where Harry had thought Kylie would be.  He was almost certain Hermione and Ron thought so too.  

            "Yeah, my mom used to tell me all these stories about her school.  It isn't open anymore, they closed it about fifteen years ago. I've seen the building.  All the windows are boarded up.  You'd never think it was a school," Kylie said.

            "What happened? I mean, why'd they close it?" Hermione asked her.

            "One of the students was murdered."

            "How? I don't want to know all of the details, but that doesn't usually happen."

            "Voldemort."  Kylie said the name as if it was no big deal.

            "Oh, you, you don't care about his name?" Hermione asked.

            "No one really cared too much about the name thing at my old school, it was too hard to say it every time.  I never thought it was a good idea to be afraid of a name, anyway," Kylie said.

            Harry was more interested in the actual subject.  A student had been killed at a school?  Fifty-something years ago, a girl had died at Hogwarts, but it was because a basilisk had looked her in the eye.  

            "Who was she?" Harry asked Kylie.

            "I forget her name, but she was the daughter of an old friend of my mom's.  It wasn't personal or anything, I guess, because her and my mom stopped talking to each other for some reason," Kylie said.  Harry noticed she was shifting uncomfortably.

            "Well that's a very good reason to close a school.  Ours almost was closed in our second year, because a monster got free and was attacking muggle-borns.  But it's okay now, Harry killed it and the Chamber of Secrets hasn't been opened since," Hermione said very quickly.  

But who's to say it hasn't been opened?

            Malfoy chose this particular part of the conversation to speak up.  "Ah, yes, I remember.  Super-Potter saved everyone yet again."

            "You do know that everyone includes yourself, right?" Kylie asked him.

            "Well, I was never in danger.  I'm a _pureblood_, you see," he said, looking very proud.  

            "What's that all supposed to mean, about Harry always saving the day?" Kylie asked.

            "Oh, nothing important, it's just that Potter here has only saved someone's life about once a year.  It's all gotten very boring to us Slytherins, it's nothing we haven't heard before," Malfoy said lazily.

            "Then why do you even talk about it, if it is really that boring?" Kylie asked him.

            "It was something I thought you should know, as a Slytherin," Malfoy said, malice in his eyes.

            "Thanks, but I think I'll learn things for myself.  Generally, events in my life turns out better that way," Kylie said.

            "It's true, Harry did save a lot of lives," Hermione said truthfully.

            "I guess you're quite a hero then?" Kylie asked Harry, who glared at her.

            Harry didn't know Kylie would get so offended by that.  

            "Sorry if you dislike credit for good things you've done.  You know, if you have to be in the spotlight, at least be glad it's usually for something good you did.  Some people I know are only credited for the bad."  She looked at Malfoy while saying the last sentence.

            Kylie had a point, Harry decided.  Plus, there was no reason for getting on her bad side now.  He didn't need someone else against him, especially not a Slytherin.

            "Besides, you don't seem like the best person to be an enemy of," Kylie said to Harry.

            "Sorry, it's just I get enough of it from him, and I really don't need any more of this about me being such a brave little hero all the time.  It gets annoying, people paying attention to everything you do," Harry said.

            "Tell be about it," Kylie said quietly under her breath.

            Harry was about to question her when Hermione announced that they had arrived.

            The seven sharing the compartment all got up at the same time and headed to the door, which caused there to be quite a roadblock.  Everyone slammed into each other.  

            Once they had gotten off the train, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle made their way to the carriages.  Kylie hung back for a minute to catch her breath.  She looked up and saw a huge castle.  

            "It was everything he said it was," she whispered to herself.

            "Kylie, you coming or not?" Harry asked her.

            "Yeah, one minute," she said.

            She had many random thoughts going through her head.

            ' It's not like they'll always believe I don't know why I'm in Slytherin, it'll all come out in the end.  Who am I kidding, pretending to not know about all the stuff that's happened at Hogwarts.  It's not like I have a choice really, I have an obligation to know what goes on here.  And I actually told them that me and Mom were moving here because she wanted us too!' 

            Kylie looked up at the castle as she walked towards the carriages.  

It looked back at her. It knew she would cause complications, and It knew what had to be done about it.

            She had final thoughts as she ascended into the carriage.

            'It's not like I'm not here for a reason.'

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Whew, that was long.  I'm trying to make more happiness in these next chapters, but I can't say that something big won't happen.  I can't say that it will, the plan is ever-changing.

To my wonderful reviewers:

Timothy: You were my first reviewer! But you only reviewed chapter 1…

ME: I'm sorry; I can't say what will happen next.  I wouldn't, even if I knew.  I haven't planned this story too far in advance.

Violet Eyes: Thanx for the reviews! I read your Hp fics by the way, they're really good!

Dark Mage of the Element Dujour: You rhymed! Thank you so much! I didn't think anyone would! Then again, there were all those limericks…See you in school!

Ruffledowl:Thanx so much! Thanx for considering rhyming, or at least reading where I said that.

Whiteowl: Thanks for the review!

Ginny Anderson: Thanx for your review!

QuicksilverFallen: Thanks so much for all of your reviews! Keep writing your fics, too. They're really good!

Anime-girl mika: Thank you so much for the reviews!

Ryshora: One of the most flattering reviews Ever! Thanx so much!

Deis: Thanx for your review!

Starheart: Thanx for the review!

Black Rose: Thanks for the reviews!

Crazyhorse: Thanx for the reviews! 

Anrion: Thanx for the review!

Amor18: Thanx for the review!

Yoriko-sakura chan: Thanx for your review!

Is that everyone? Thanx to all of you, anyway!

You guys know the drill, you read, now REVIEW! 

Show me the reviews!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	11. Diffindo Domini the real one, I think

**The Fifth House**

** **

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter, and yeah!

Author's Note:Hey guys! Sorry, it's been kind of a while since I updated.This chapter rakes place at Hogwarts.The school year finally begins, oh joy!Thanx to the awesome reviewers and remember:

Read

Review

Remember the 3R's because I'm running out of r's…

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Ten**

** **

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Kylie didn't talk through most of the carriage ride.Kylie wanted to, but was too nervous.She would stutter and everything would come out wrong, which was _exactly _what she didn't need to do at that moment in time.Hermione was leafing quickly through a book, making sure that she didn't forget any crucial spells.Ron was gazing out the window towards the lake, watching the giant squid swim around.

Harry was gazing out the other window, at the Quidditch pitch.

The road that wound up to the castle went right along the side of the pitch.Harry had never seen a Quidditch match from ground level, but he heard it was boring.He brought his gaze downward to shield his eyes from the sun.Then he saw something on the ground.

It was a rough looking grey rock that lay flat on the ground.

Harry looked at it curiously.It looked slightly familiar, but not like something you'd see at Hogwarts.

"Do you know what that rock thing is?" he asked Hermione.

"What rock?Harry I don't see anything," Hermione answered.

"There used to be a huge rock at my school.We used to climb on it; my friends and I even named it," Kylie said.

"What did you name a great big rock?" Ron asked.

"The Great Big Rock," answered Kylie lazily."Harry, where'd you see it anyway?"

"Over around the pitch," Harry said.

"Oh.Okay," Kylie said.She looked as if she was trying to recall something.

"We're here!" Hermione called out enthusiastically.

Kylie gulped and looked up at the giant castle.Harry was nervous too.

But he had his own reasons.

****

"Hold on!" Kylie yelled.Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned and looked at her.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"I just remembered something! Hermione, you've read Hogwarts, a History, right?" Kylie asked her.

"She's memorized it.Carries it with her everywhere," Ron said.

"Yes, Kylie, I've read that book several times. I got it from the school library many times, than I finally got my own copy.Not like I needed it, it wasn't very popular in the library for some reason," Hermione said.

"Oh, you, you've only read that version.Then you wouldn't know about the old-" Kylie started, but her voice was drowned out by the sudden noise that came as the students entered the Great Hall.

"Second through seventh years to their house tables, please," said Professor McGonagall, her voice magnified with a charm.

"I'll tell you later Hermione," said Kylie as she sadly followed Malfoy to the Slytherin table.

The three looked after her as she sat down at the table next to Pansy Parkinson.Kylie looked over at them and smiled weakly.

"I hope she gets to finish telling us what she was saying, about the old something.I don't know where that came from, she suddenly thought we should know, so it must be important," Hermione said.Harry and Ron nodded.

The Sorting ceremony began.One by one, nervous first years came up to the stool and waited for their destiny at Hogwarts to begin.

It started with " Amero, Maura".The people in the hall watched as the hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

The sorting continued, until there was only one student left.

One student to complete the Reborn circle.

"Zakharova, Sarah!" McGonagall shouted.

The last girl, who looked very nervous indeed, walked slowly to the hat.She took a deep breath, sat down in the chair, and winced slightly as the hat was placed on her head.

Harry noticed that the hat was taking a particularly long time to place her.It wasn't unusual, the hat had taken a long time with Harry as well.

But for Harry, the hat at least said _something._

****

After about ten minutes, Dumbledore got up off his chair and walked over to Sarah.He whispered something in her ear; she looked scared, sad, and then happy.No one could tell for sure what he was telling her.

Dumbledore stood up straight and addressed the school.

"It seems that since we have such a large first year class this year, that the Sorting Hat is simply tired out.We will allow it time to rest, then Miss Zakharova will be sorted."He paused here, while Professor McGonagall brought Sarah out of the hall.Once she was gone, Dumbledore continued."I would ask you all to not bother her, as this is not an uncommon event.In two recent years, the same thing has happened, we have had larger classes."

That was the first time Albus Dumbledore ever lied.

Dumbledore carried on with his usual speech.Everything was the same, no one is allowed in the Forbidden Forest, anyone interested in trying out for Quidditch should contact Madame Hooch, all the same things.Finally he ended the oration with a final announcement.

"This is a year when you should be especially cautious.I need not to inform you that since Voldemort has returned, there will be more security in the castle and on the grounds.However, Hogwarts will be just as safe as it has been in the past years.I don't mean to frighten anyone further than I see some of you are, so I will end with that.Let the feast begin!"

"That was one of Dumbledore's more unusual speeches," Hermione said to Harry and Ron.

"Well Dumbledore's quite unusual himself, isn't he?" Harry said.

"Enough talk, let's eat!" Ron said.

It was true, Hogwarts feasts were truly magnificent.There were all kinds of foods, chicken, steak, pork chops, goulash, potatoes, a large salad, and several bowls of small candies.Harry was very excited to start eating, and dug in happily.Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked excitedly together and ate happily.

Things were different, however, at the Slytherin table.

Kylie was far less than pleased to be sitting with several Death Eaters' sons and daughters. To amuse herself, she went around the table, trying to remember the surname of everyone to determine if their parents were death eaters.After a while it got boring, so she strained herself to pay attention to what Pansy Parkinson was going on about.

"Well, you should definitely avoid Potter, Weasley, and Granger.They're the worst sort to been seen with," Pansy said.

"But they're my friends, and they're really nice, at least to me," Kylie said.

"Then cut it out, it'll ruin your reputation as a Slytherin.Plus, they only bring trouble.And why would you want to be around anyone who's as bigheaded as they are?" Pansy warned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kylie asked her, trying to contain her anger.

"Honestly, you haven't realized it already?" Malfoy interrupted."Granger thinks she's the smartest person in the school, and Weasley's father is obsessed with muggles.Then there's Potter, possibly the worst of all of them.He thinks he's so wonderful because he's got some stupid scar, and so what if he saved a few people's lives? Other people have done that too…Also, he's really weak, because he faints whenever a dementor is around."

"It isn't a sign of weakness to faint around a dementor.Have you ever evenbeen near one? They make you freezing, on the outside and the inside, all the way to your heart," Kylie defended."But, oh, I'm sorry, my mistake.How could a dementor possibly affect you? Your heart is already cold."

With that she stood up and quickly strode over to the doors to the entrance hall.Hermione saw her and called out her name.

"Kylie, whats's wrong?Come here for a minute," Hermione called.

Kylie walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Hermione.

"It's just Malfoy, he was just going on and on about how much he hates all of you.Didn't seem to be anything earth-shattering, so I left," Kylie explained.

"Yeah, we're his favorite foes, as he says," Harry said.

"Kylie, what were you saying before, after the carriage ride?About the old something…?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Oh yes!" Kylie said."You have the newer version of Hogwarts, a History, I'm talking about something in an older edition."

"There are editions?" Ron asked her.She nodded.

"Yeah, I have the eight edition, most people nowadays have the ninth, it's much more recent.It's actually banned to own a copy of the eight edition, but it's just something I have around, it was my grandfather's.Anyway, that old stone you saw Harry.You said it was grey, flat, and rough, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, and hard to see through grass," he answered.

"In the eight edition of Hogwarts, a History,there is a chapter on the history of the Quidditch field.What Harry saw was a gravestone," Kylie explained in a whisper.

Hermione gasped loudly, Ron raised his eyebrows very high, and Harry's jaw sagged slightly.

"You, you mean..?" Ron stuttered.

"What I mean, is that the Quidditch pitch was built over an old cemetery.People are buried there,' Kylie interrupted in a hushed voice.

"Well, then why are copies of that edition banned, is it because of that?" Hermione asked, greatly concerned that she could not own a copy.

"Yeah, but there's other things too.That ban doesn't really mean much.Sure, it's illegal to buy in bookstores, but they wouldn't have it anyway.It's really old, so there are only a few copies around.It was banned because several house team players wouldn't play over dead bodies.It was getting hard to put teams together.The book also gave some information about more secretive things, like the Chamber of Secrets.Some students went looking for it and were never found.That was when the headmaster decided that a new edition should be made.It's hard to read anyway, it's over two thousand pages," Kylie explained.

"Hermione's dream book," Ron said.

"Yeah, well, I have to go back to my table, Snape's glaring at me for being at this table," Kylie said."See you guys later."

"Harry, you've played Quidditch over a cemetery, and no one knew.You're still going to play, right?" Ron asked him.

"Yeah, of course," Harry answered.He was kind of freaked out, but he'd get over it.

Sarah Zakharova returned to the Great Hall and sat at the Hufflepuff table.Harry saw her snap at a boy who motioned for her to pass the salt.It seemed very un-Hufflepuff of her.

But what Harry Potter didn't know was that Sarah wasn't in Hufflepuff, not really.She was the eighth student in Hogwart's thousand-year history to be in a different house.By saying nothing, the Sorting Hat had placed her in Terces.

****

After the feast, students went to their dorms.But four students went to a different room.None of them knew how they got there, they just followed their instinct on direction in the halls.

But in the end, four of them were in a strange hall in a deep, hidden part of Hogwarts.You see, no one ever truly knows their way around all of Hogwarts.

Except the Circle Ones.

The four students had walked into a large hall, easily twice the size of the Great Hall.All along the walls there were portraits.Not of people, but of wolves, the sacred animal of Terces.There were drapes of a rich, dark, almost black shade of purple.The floor was solid stone.Not marble, not cobblestone, but something else.The ceiling was perhaps the most beautiful part of the hall.There was a swirling ceiling; it was like a liquid in it, like a whirlpool in the sky that never stopped.It was an opal color.

A voice boomed from somewhere in the room, the students looked around, but the voice had come from all around them, not one area.

"Accipio novellas sodalis!" it said.

It was a language that none of the four spoke before, but from this one phrase, they all learned it instantly.It spoke again, this time part was in English.

"Welcome to the Hetairia Lupinus, or as we call it, Terces."

The voice was very strange.It sounded not male, nor female.It wasn't too low or too high-pitched.

There were now eight people in the hall.They stood in a circle and looked up at the ceiling.

The voice spoke once more.

"Diffindo quadripertitus domini."

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Whew! I had to use an online language translator for parts of that chapter!What did you all think? Good? Bad?Worst Ever? 

By the way, "Diffindo quadripertitus domini" means "Open four powers" in another language."Acciopio novellas sodalis" means "Welcom new society members" or something similar in the same other language.Someone will probably guess it, but I won't say what language I used.

If you have an opinion about this chapter, there's only one thing to do!

Review!

Words of Wisdom:The right way to do something is almost always the hardest way.

I love you all!

Ciao!  
~Starry


	12. The Event

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: To avoid being sued, I do not own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything that in any way shape or form seems familiar from the books.  I own the plot and A few characters. 

Author's Note:  Hey guys! I'm really sorry about chapter eleven, but it's all good now.  Thanx for the reviews, I really appreciate them!  I'm up to 63 now, and I only thought I'd get, like, ten for the whole story.  I guess I thought wrong.  By the way, there are some really long names in this chapter, but they all translate from another language, so I have to keep them the way they are for plot reasons.

Read.

Review.

Rock n' Roll! {A special thanx to Kirina for suggesting R words}

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Eleven**

            Harry woke up very early on the first day of lessons.  This year he was unusually very excited about school.  Maybe not the school part, such as lessons and homework.  It most _definitely_ not the homework that got him so excited.  Maybe it was the fact that he'd get to see everyone again, even if it meant going through the usual boring lessons.  He'd seen most of the people he'd wanted to.  But he hadn't seen Hagrid yet.  Harry didn't know what classes he had today; they hadn't gotten the schedules yet.

            "How can you even be awake?" Ron asked him as he, Harry, and Hermione walked down several staircases to the Great Hall.  Harry noticed that Ron had bags under his eyes and seemed to be yawning every few seconds.

            "Ron, some people are actually happy to get back to school," Hermione said.

            "Then I guess I'm definitely not one of them," Ron said through a yawn.

            When they arrived at the Hall, there was a stack of schedules on the Gryffindor table.  Hermione sorted through them and found three fifth-year ones.  

            "As if our day couldn't get any worse," Ron said, looking very annoyed with everything.

            Harry looked down at his schedule.  He groaned.

            _            9:00 History of Magic_

_                        11:00 Divination_

_                                    Lunch_

_                        1:00 Potions_

_                        2:30 Potions_

            The three worst subjects in the history of school, and all on the first day.  First they'd be bored out of their minds by Professor Binns lectures of Goblin Rebellions.  Then, they'd get their futures told nonstop for an hour, and Harry knew the Professor said he'd die-again.  According to Professor Trelawney, Harry was always in extreme danger.  After lunch, they'd get to spend some quality time with Harry, Ron, and Hermione's least favorite people: Professor Snape and the Slytherins.  Hermione was the luckiest of them all; she had Arithmancy instead of Divination.  

            "Hey Hermione! Ron! Harry!" a voice called from somewhere.

            They turned around.  Kylie was jogging to them.  "Hi guys! What's up?" she asked.  

            "Hi.  We're just brooding over our most unfortunate luck of schedule for today," Ron said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

            "We have History of Magic, Divination, and double potions.  Our day just gets worse and worse," Harry explained.

            "Except for me.  I have Arithmancy instead of Divination," Hermione added.

            "History of Magic isn't so bad, I've heard, if you just daydream about something.  Divination is actually kind of fun- just go along with whatever the teacher says- pretend like you care.  It's actually quite funny if they really believe you.  And potions can't be that bad-you just do what Snape says and try to make a potion that almost looks ok," Kylie said.

            " I guess so, but you can't know Snape that well in just one day.  Sure, maybe he's nice to you, but wait until you see how many house points he takes off Gryffindor.  He hates anyone who isn't a Slytherin, but he hates Gryffindors especially," Harry answered.  

            "He's really that bad to you guys?" Kylie asked.

            "Yeah, just awful.  He takes off points just for helping someone," Hermione said.

            "That's too bad.  Well, I have to go get my dragon hide gloves and still get down to some hut, 'cause I've got Care of Magical Creatures first, and I hear you shouldn't forget your gloves for that," Kylie said.  "Bye!"

            "Bye," Hermione said.  Harry waved, and Ron did nothing.

            "Ron, are you ok?" Hermione asked him, noticing his confused face.

            "It's just, I don't get it!  How can she be so happy about lessons she hasn't had at this school _ever?" _Ron said.

            "The world may never know," said Hermione.

*          *            *            *

            The halls were freezing throughout the day.  It was still September, and even the cold climate couldn't be that cold.  If it was icy now, it would be glacial in the winter.  

            As cold as it was in the halls where students roamed, chatting about lessons, people, and other things, it was very warm in one part of the castle.  There was a perfect temperature in the Atrium Terces {Hall of Terces}.  Eight people were in the hall, each going through Book of Malus each of them looked deeply intrigued, except one of them.

            "Isn't this kind of risky, though? I mean, couldn't we get caught?" asked the concerned boy.

            "So long as we are honest with each other, and do not mention, in any form, anything that goes on here outside this hall, we will not be discovered.  It worked the first time, it will work again," said another student.

            "You see, we have an advantage over the school.  Far over the school, if you want more detail.  None of the many headmasters or headmistresses this school has ever had knew about us.  With the exception, of one," another student said.

            "How did that headmaster know about us?" asked the very interested boy.

            "Headmistress, actually.  She had inside connections.  You will gain knowledge of her in the future.  But it won't be long, no Terces sodalis can possibly take part in any movement of our society without knowing of her," said one person.

            "Can you tell me anything about her? A name, maybe?" asked another boy.

            "Very well.  Her name was Lady Macabryne Maldade.  She was Hogwarts twenty-fifth head, and the noblest by our standards.  She had a wolf called Spokelse, who protected her.  She enjoyed playing Chinese checkers," said a student in a monotone.

            "Is that all you can tell us?" prompted the boy.

            "I can tell you no more," said the other student.  

            The eighth student walked into the hall from a door at the top of a long, winding staircase.  She was holding a large bound book in her hands.

            "This is not the time to learn of Lady Macabryne Maldade.  Though you should know that when you speak of her, you must say her full name, or one of us may think otherwise, which will get you a most terrible chastisement.  Moving on, now is the time you will receive your names.  I know, you all have names already, but when your portrait is in this hall in a thousand years, you will be known by your new name,' she said hurriedly.

            "I didn't know we'd be receiving new names today," said one student.

            "You will never know what will be happening the next day, nor will we.  The reason is that plans change, and we must change with them, so it isn't right to arrange anything for tomorrow.  Especially with the many complications we shall face this year," she said.

            "If we don't think about tomorrow, then how can you say we'll face anything in the future?" asked one very irritated student.

            "That's a good point, it shows that you will fit in well with Terces.  There is an exception to every rule; this is the one for this.  There are some things that we know will come to pass, that fate has shared with us," she said, smiling wryly. 

            She continued.  "Your name, by the way, shall be Bortkommen," she said to the fifth year boy.

            "What kind of name is _that_?" he asked her.

            "A kind of name that describes you very well," she said, with a slight edge to her voice.

            "What if we don't like our new name?" asked the other boy, very nervously.

            "Then too bad for you.  You get what you get, and if you don't like the name itself, you will at least like the meaning," she said.  "My name, by the way, is Hekserienne, but you can call me Enna," said the girl.

            "Why do we have messed up names that sound really bizarre?" asked Bortkommen.

            "As strange as you think they may be, they all have meaning.  In your houses, you were sorted by what you were supposed to be.  Your new names tell who you are," said Hekserienne.

            "But how will we know who we are if we don't know what our names mean?" Bortkommen asked, he was getting irritated.

            "You may never know.  You must seek the answer out yourself.  Only when you know who you are will you know what you are being called by.  However, if you do get to the bottom of this, you may or may not like the answer you find.  Only when you are sure, and can prove, that your name isn't fitting can it be changed.  Then the process starts all over again.  However, a shorter form of your name, which we'll call you if you want, is Brann, if you like that better," said Hekserienne.

            "Why is Terces such a complicated thing? Or is it a movement of some sort?  A place? What exactly _is _Terces?" asked Brann confusedly.

            "I am glad you asked that question.  It shows you have the full potential.  Terces is not a thing, nor a movement.  It is a house, but not truly, at heart, every Terces sodalis knows that.  You were placed in the house of Terces in your first year, but it is not a house, exactly."  Brann only looked more confused.

            "Right now, you are in Terces.  When you were born, you were in Terces.  When you die, you shall be in Terces.  You see, Terces is not a place.  Terces is a state of mind," she said.

            "Oh, and that makes it all so much easier to understand," Brann said under his breath.

            Hekserienne shot him a death glare.  "Your sarcasm will only make it more difficult for you.  You do not have the option to leave, however.  Once Terces calls out to you, you have only two choices.  The obvious choice, of course, would be to stay with it.  It will make your life much more difficult to do otherwise," she said.

            "And what would the other choice be?" he asked her.

            "Death," she answered hotly.

            Hekserienne continued as if nothing had happened.  "I shall give you others your names now."

            She turned toward a second year girl.  "Your name shall be Stralende, but if you want to shorten in a bit, we can call you Strella, as it is the only shortened form of the name."

            "All right, then," said Strella, not looking disappointed. 

            Enna turned to the scared looking boy.  "Your name shall be Skjulte."

            "Is there a shorter version? I'm not sure I can pronounce that…" said the boy nervously.  Enna smiled.

            "Yes, there is a shorter version of every name.  We shall call you Skully," said Enna.  'Skully' looked despaired at the thought of his name.

            Enna turned to the last girl and smiled.  "Finally we have our last sodalis.  You are to be called Ren.  The shortened version is Ren," said Enna, beaming.

            "That's a nice name, it sounds nice," Ren said.

            Enna smiled.  "It has a nice meaning, too," Enna said.

            "Hold on, you know the meanings of our names? That's not fair!" Brann complained.

            "You know that it is, Brann, stop complaining.  However, to explain better, I will tell a little more history," Enna snapped.

            She continued.

            "To begin with, it is important for you know that the base of Terces is history.  When Terces was founded, it took many months of research to discover the abandoned powers we have now.  It was found in a very old book, which is very sacred to us now, and it took vast amounts of endurance to free the power.  Actually, there are several powers.  Until we meet again, what you need to know is that you should never neglect the History of Magic, because it was a third of the reason why Terces succeeded."

            "So there's one power, but there's several powers?  How many?  How does anyone manage that?" asked Brann.

            "There is one main power, and four smaller ones we control.  It takes four powers to have any of them work," answered another girl, that the four new sodalises did not know the name of.  "By the way, my name is Reelle."

            "How come we don't know their names?" asked Ren, pointing to two other people.

            The two other people are very important.  Ren, Brann, Strella, and Skully should know their names.

_Tell them._

            "They are Sammen, call him Sam, and Plikttro, call him Plikttro," Enna answered promptly.

            "Oh, okay.  Can we go now?" Strella asked.  She looked exhausted.

            "Yes, this gathering of Terces is adjourned.  You may all leave, I have to get some things together, I'll lock the entrance," Enna said.  

            "Hold on, when is our next gathering?" Strella asked.

            "We meet every time the moon changes.  Our next meeting will be on the Full Moon.  That is September the twenty-second, for those of you who do not study lunar charts," Enna answered pointedly at Skully.

            "It's not my fault! I'm only good at one subject!" Skully defended.

            "And what would that be?  Failing?" Brann said in a taunting voice.

            Enna watched Brann, Skully, Strella, and Ren leave the hall.  She looked at Reelle, who smiled.

             "They'll get along in time, they'll have to," Reelle said, as though she read Enna's mind.  

            "I remember when we all didn't get along at first.  We hated each other.  But hard work and perseverance brought us together, and look how much we've accomplished now?" Plikttro said.

            "When the need for power is so strong, people come together easily.  It was always that way, it always is that way, it always will be that way," Sam said.

            "I suppose so.  You three better get back to your dorms.  I'd recommend the tunnels, as students are always wandering on this night. I'll tidy up the things, and get everything in its place," Enna said, hoping to get them to leave.

            They nodded, but Enna saw the smile Reelle was trying to hide.  

            Reelle knew why Enna liked to stay later.  She usually didn't even go back to her cozy common room on gathering nights.  It was just too nice to stay the night in the Terces library, reading up new ways to enhance the powers.

But no matter how much Enna searched or tried, the other power just wouldn't cooperate.

It was untamable.

            But that would never stop Enna from trying.  Every meeting night she'd stay in the library.  She never went to the school library, no, it was pointless.  They had no books that would help Terces at all.  This may be because no one in the main school, including students, teachers. Headmaster, and staff {including Mrs. Norris} knew about Terces.  Only Terces knew about Terces, and that was the only way it could be.

It was the only way It would have it.

            Anyway, Terces library was so much more complete.  It contained every book the school library had, and then about ten thousand more.  There was no restricted section, as most of the books would be considered restricted anyway.  It was the only library in the world that had every edition of Hogwarts, a History.  

It was Enna's heaven.

            She hummed to herself as she leafed through some random book about enchanted objects.  It had been on the very highest shelf out of twenty-seven, and the best books were always on the highest shelf.  Enna was flipping the pages until she got bored and returned the book to its proper place on the shelf.  Every book had to put back in its proper place, or else they would get annoyed.

Enna didn't notice when an article fell out of the pages.  

            She climbed slowly down the ladder.  When she stepped off of it, she slipped on the article.  It was a rather large piece of paper.  She bent down to pick it up, when she heard the sound of a swift wind.  She immediately stood up straight and stepped on the article, hiding only part of it.

_What are you doing?_

            "I-I'm doing nothing of any importance, just looking through some books," she answered.

_Then why are you standing on a Daily Prophet article? Are you hiding it from me?_

"No, I'd never hide anything from you.  A piece of paper fell out of a book, and I just bent down to pick it up when you came," she answered in partial truth.

_I see.  Read the article aloud._

            Enna picked up the paper and started to read.

            " 'Dark Lord strikes again'.  That's the header.  It reads:

            The Dark Lord has killed yet another innocent person, this time a muggle.  The victim, by the name as Alyssa Grisley, was found dead yesterday morning, September first, at King's Cross Train Station.  No reporters were allowed on the scene, details are classified information. Funeral services will be private.

                                                          Writes Renee Skeeter, 

                                                Temporary correspondent"

_I think you need to find more information, and quickly.  Or else I'll get angry.  And you don't want me angry.  _

            "Of course I'll find out more.  But is it that important if Voldemort strikes again? Won't it mean a good diversion for us?" Enna asked.

_Of course.  That's why you need to find out more._

"I see," Enna answered.  

            Then she heard the wind again, this time blowing away. She breathed a sigh of relief.  She hated being contacted by It.  It was inescapable. 

But It would follow her for the rest of her life and beyond.

*          *            *            *

            If you exited Terces Hall through the tunnels, and got to the Entrance Hall, then you could say that the event first occurred ten staircases, three trick steps, two tired ghosts, and four secret passages away.

It happened in the Gryffindor dormitories first that every occupant woke up suddenly.  Then the Ravenclaws; it moved up three more staircases to wake the Hufflepuffs, and finally continued to the dark, dreary Slytherins in their dungeons.

            Every student in the school was awoken by it.  Every teacher, staff member, and even the headmaster did not wake.  Every animal stirred; every staircase creaked {even without anyone walking on it}; every door swung open and closed several times.  Every sink froze over.  Every fire went out.  Every creature in the Forbidden Forest went silent.

And every single living being felt a burning to icy pain.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: That chapter took forever to write, I don't know why.  Maybe it was all those breaks I had to take to look up some crazy translation on the web.

Fun.

Words of Wisdom:  It takes hundreds of carrots to improve your vision, but only one onion to make you cry.

Go figure.

Review, Review, Review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	13. Hogwarts' Best Kept Secret

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? Can't I just get on with the chapter? I've kept the reviewers waiting long enough- don't I owe it to them to skip a disclaimer just this once?

Fine!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: I am so sorry! I have not written a chapter in so long! It's because I had this huge project for school- a 3-D, two posters, a ten-page paper, seventy note cards, and a speech.  Fun, eh?  Now I will have more time to write {and June 21 is my deadline}!  

Oh well, on with the chapter! And a major thanx to all the reviewers, you all rock!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twelve**

         "Did you feel it?"

         "No way, it couldn't have been every house!"

         "_Every single house?_"

         There was much discussion going on at Hogwarts School.  Most of it was very much similar to all the rest.  

         Every student in the school-Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, and Terces sodalises- felt it. The pain.  The scorch.  The ice.  

The Event that started it all.

         The truth was that no one was sure exactly what it was.  No one knew what caused it.  It was a frightening prospect, waking up to a pain somewhere in you that just hurt like it was torture.  It hadn't yet been realized at this point, but every student had felt it somewhere different.  Harry Potter had felt it is his scar.  Ron Weasley had felt it in his eyes.  Hermione Granger felt the pain through her spine.  Each student had awakened to this mysterious pain.  It was the most excruciating experience any of them had had. 

 Or most of them, as there were always exceptions.     

         But the fact remained that every student had been awakened by it, and every teacher had not.

         Each house met in its common room.  The Terces sodalises discreetly traveled via the tunnels to the Atrium.  

         In the Gryffindor common room, there was a terrified conversation that was mostly yelling.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, stood in a corner talking quietly.

         Harry knew it was only a matter of time before he was accused of starting it.  It was such an obvious explanation that even Harry had considered somehow hexing the student body in his sleep.  Hermione thought that there was a simple explanation.  Obviously, she said, there had to be an answer within reaching distance.  She did not, however, have any idea of what this explanation might be.  Nor did she know which books the answers could be located in, which, Ron commented, was a first.  She was certain that the answer would not be easy to find, and they probably could not find it in the Hogwarts library.  Ron asked, We?

Harry said that the only way to find an answer was to work together.  Ron shook his head in agony.  

         "And I was hoping this would be a laid-back year," Ron said.

         "How could you think that, Ron? You know we have O.W.L.s this year!" Hermione pointed out.

         "Oh yes," Ron said, trying to look as if he _knew_ that and was planning on having some fun study sessions.  

         Harry remained pretty quiet and uninvolved throughout the conversation, with the exception of an occasional nod or shrug.  He was thinking a lot.  It was very strange that all of Gryffindor was woken by the same type of pain.  Harry wasn't sure yet if it had affected the other houses, but he had the idea that it had.  It did not seem strange to him that he felt a pain in his scar.  It was a different kind of pain, he'd only felt this kind once before, but it was still his scar burning all the same.  

*       *       *       *

         In the Hufflepuff common room, all of the students were sitting around the fire having a quiet talk. It was the best way to discuss the happening without arguing.  Some Hufflepuffs, however, seemed to have very strong opinions and wanted their voices to be heard.  Eleanor Branstone was one of these types.  

         "I'm almost _certain_ that I can find out what it is that started all this," she said.

         "What makes you so sure about that?" asked Ernie MacMillan.  

         "I am one of the smartest students in the school, Ernie.  Even smarter than some Ravenclaws," she answered in a very conceited fashion.  

         "How exactly are you planning to do this? I mean, you can't just cruise down to the library, pull some book of the top shelf and look up the answer.  It can't be that easy, I know for a fact that every book in the Hogwarts library has been taken out at least once, someone would have read it and told us by now," Ernie defended.

         "What makes you so sure about that? Been having some quiet time with Madame Pince, have you?" Eleanor sneered.

         "I had to serve detention sorting books! I just asked her if she knew if there were any books that _hadn't_ been taken out, but she said all of them had.  It was a detention!" he said to a bunch of skeptical Hufflepuffs, and he was blushing.

         "You've stained the Hufflepuff name!" shrieked a girl from the corner.

         "Exactly!" Eleanor said.  "And once I find the answer I can bring Hufflepuff some real glory! I can help Hufflepuff rise above the others!" Eleanor shouted into the crowd.  She may be conceited, but she was also charismatic.  A roar of approval swept the room.

*       *       *       *

         Things were going differently in the Ravenclaw common room.  Each member of the house was sitting somewhere; they were somehow organized in a way that everyone could see everyone else.  It was the most orderly way to do it, and Ravenclaws are all for order.  

         If you had walked in at that moment, you would have seen a group of about sixty or seventy students all looking very stern and ready for a debate.  It was a somewhat intimidating sight.

         "So, I call this official meeting of the Ravenclaw house to order," called out the prefect from the house.  His name was Raymond Cruz; he was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts.  And he was scared.  Strange things had happened at the school before and innumerable times in the past, he knew, but nothing where the entire student body had been affected.  It just didn't make sense.  

But he knew something was coming, something big.  And he prayed that it had nothing to do with him.

Or his ancestry.

         "May I speak first, Cruz?" asked a third year boy.  The Ravenclaws called each other by their last names during these meetings, as it sounded more professional.

         "Yes.  Please state your name and year in case anyone would like to take down notes," Raymond said.

         "Thank you, Cruz.  My name is Jonathon Reed, and I'm in my third year here at Hogwarts.  I personally believe that what is happening has nothing to do with any powerful evil.  I think that some wizard or witch in the world may have accidentally hexed our school.  I think that that is all that happened, and that nothing more will follow."  Several hands rose throughout the room.

Terces frowned upon Jonathon Reed.

         "You there," Raymond said, pointing to a girl closest in seating arrangements to Jonathon.

         "My name is Orla Quirke, and I'm a first year.  I must add, with all due respect, Reed, that I strongly disagree.  If this isn't an evil, and is just some wizard or witch's mistake, how can we be certain of that?  If we decided that was the explanation we wanted to settle on, would that not make us idle? Is idleness not the one thing Ravenclaws despise? It would cause us to act against our house."

She paused here to flip her hair over her shoulder, and to let the others consider what she had said. " Also, I don't think we should do nothing about this.  It has always been known that Ravenclaw has the smartest students.  Wouldn't we be letting Hogwarts down to take no action? I say we start an investigation.  It would have to be a quiet one, we wouldn't want any of the other houses to get involved."

         The assembly of Ravenclaws looked thoughtfully at each other.  It was true that Rowena Ravenclaw had hated idleness with a passion.  It was also held to be true that Ravenclaw had produced many of the world's most brilliant wizards and witches, there was no doubt and that.  

         "Let's vote.  All in favor of lying idle, raise your hand," Cruz said into the crowd.  Jonathon Reed and one other student raised their hands.

         "Very well, that's two votes.  All in favor of starting up a silent investigation, raise your hands," Cruz said, fighting to suppress a smile.

         To be fair, Raymond Cruz had to count every vote.  If he said that it was just obvious, Jonathon could fight back and demand a recount.  It seemed hardly fair, however, to torture Reed with his loss at two votes to seventy-one.

         Even Raymond had raised his hand.  He didn't know why he did it.  It was not in his heritage to investigate something like this.  But, his conscience told him; he could guide the investigation in a specific direction, away from all that involved him.

Or his secret.

*       *       *       *

         The Slytherin common room was very quiet.  Everyone was listening to someone talk.  It was Kylie doing the talking.  She was going on {and on} about how they had to do something.  

         "Things like this don't happen for no reason.  I know that this Event had to be caused by someone, or several someones.  I don't know how I know, but I'm sure that it has to be controlled from somewhere on the school grounds.  You can't just hurt everyone with the same kind of pain from a random country across the world, it just wouldn't happen.  No one outside the school would do this, I think, because it's not like Voldemort isn't taking over people's minds with fear.  And even if they are his supporter's, they've still got to be pretty bust doing work for him, wouldn't you think?  No, this is completely our school's problem.  Dumbledore probably won't bring the ministry into it, they make us vacate the castle in a millisecond."

         "Then what are we going to do about it, Kylie?" asked a Slytherin sixth year.  Kylie was the only Slytherin called by her first name by everyone in the school, because most people had trouble pronouncing her last name.

         "I don't know, but I can't plan the whole thing by myself, you've all got to do some work on it too!" she said.

         "How about this: We completely ignore the people in the other houses, since it's got to be one of them that started this up, and see which house acts the most suspiciously," suggested Carolle Hendrix, a Slytherin seventh year.

         Kylie looked slightly frazzled by the cruelty involved.  There had to be another way, she knew it.  "Listen, Carolle, that's definitely not the way to go, because it will just make all of the houses think we're responsible for it.  As if Slytherin doesn't get enough attention for bad things already," Kylie said.  Carolle smirked.

         "That's not such a bad idea, Kylie.  If we act like we _are_ responsible.  Then the other houses will fear us, they won't come within a marathon length of us.  Whenever someone messes with us, we just threaten to get their entire house killed," said Malcolm Baddock, a second year.  

         "Yeah!"

         "Way to go, Baddock!"

         "Speaking like a _true_ Slytherin."

         Ouch.  That last remark hit Kylie like a very sharp, cold, blast of wind.  Not like she wanted to act like a Slytherin, but she at least wanted to be included somewhat.

         "Yeah, I can see it all now!" Malcolm said.  "Project We Are Responsible.  Project WAR!" he said, looking extremely proud of himself.

         Kylie sighed.  At this point there was nothing she could do.  

         She sighed again and looked around the room.  She didn't really have many Slytherin friends.  She got along fairly well with Pansy Parkinson, and also Millicent Bulstrode.  There really was no one else.  Unless she felt like attempting conversation with the first years, who generally would talk to anyone who would talk to them.

         She scanned the room still, noticing that someone was missing.  She couldn't quite place who wasn't there, but there was just something about the Slytherin crowd that wasn't there during this particular time.  

         "Hey, we should go down to the Great Hall and start our project right now! I bet the other houses will be down there, we can convince them that we are responsible!" suggested a first year who looked terribly excited at all the evil joy spreading throughout the room.

         Kylie found herself pulled out of the room with the moving mob.  

         Yes, she thought, the other houses probably would be down there.  Maybe then she could talk to Hermione or Harry or Ron.  Someone she could have an actual conversation with. 

         Thinking about her suffering social life only messed up her true thought more.  She was truly concerned about this Event. She was the only one of the Slytherins who knew how bad this could be.  She had the history.  She had the knowledge.  She had Hogwarts, a History Edition Eight.

And she knew it was back.

*       *       *       *

         The Terces Atrium was full of tired looking students.  They'd only gone to their dormitories less than an hour ago.  Enna was fully awake.  Reelle and Brann were playing Chinese checkers.  Ren and Strella were talking quietly.  Sam and Plikttro were reading books.  Skully was looking around the room, very interested in everything about it.  Enna was just standing.

         "Okay, so we've started, now what?" Brann asked.

         "We don't really do anything.  By the way, who was contacted? I know I was, but I didn't do it," asked Enna.

         "Some weird voice was talking to be about You-Know-Who.  But nothing else out of the ordinary," Skully said sarcastically.

         "I know you were, Skully, we're in the same house.  WE control the power together.  Obviously it would contact both of us," Enna explained.  "What I mean is that it takes members from two different houses being contacted to actually cause something."

         "I was," Reelle said.  "Which means you were too, Strella."

         "Does words being spelled out in the water of a sink count as a contact?" Strella asked.  Reelle nodded.  

         "I think we can all go now, then,' Enna said.

         Enna again was the last to leave.  She actually went back to her room this time, because she was scared.  She couldn't tell the others.  IT wasn't supposed to happen like this.  Someone was messing with Terces.

The Fifth power had caused the pain.  

         When a Terces sodalis is contacted by their power, they have to perform a task that it asks of it immediately.  Reelle, Strella, and Skully had all completed their tasks.

Enna hadn't completed her task of researching Renee Skeeter's article.  

         Which means that the four powers of Terces could not have done anything.  The Event wasn't supposed to happen.  

Something had made the Fifth power act.

         It was being controlled, but not by Terces.

*       *       *       *

         Every student was in the Great Hall late that night.  Each was surprised to see that there were no members of authority there.  Even the headmaster wasn't present.  

         One final meeting went on that night.  Every house took part.  The members of Terces were mixed back in with their houses now.  

         The Head Boy and Head Girl were in charge.  Everyone cooperated.  When it came time for anyone with any information to step forward, half of the student body looked at Harry.

         "What?" he asked, trying to look as confused as all of them.

         "Come off it, guys,' spoke up a voice that often wasn't heard.  Neville Longbottom was speaking in public, in front of the entire student body, for the first time.  He blushed as everyone looked at him in disbelief.  'Honestly, it's so obvious it's Harry it's obviously not Harry."

         Murmurs of approval swept the hall.

         "What makes any of you so sure Potter could pull it off anyway?  It would take Slytherin strength to do that. Bet he'd get scared.  Bet he wouldn't want to lose his position as Dumbledore's favorite boy," drawled Draco Malfoy's voice.  He was smirking.

         "Speaking of Dumbledore, we probably shouldn't tell him about all of this.  He'll be obligated to tell the ministry, and then the school would almost definitely close," spoke up Raymond Cruz.

         Students started talking all at once.  Hermione Granger, of course, disliked the idea very much.  The Head Boy and Girl were discussing the matter quietly.  The Head Boy stepped towards the students.

         "That's true, but if it gets very bad, or if for any reason we think any student could be in danger, we have to tell.  We'll only allow it to stay a secret between all of us for now because if, at the end of the year, it's still being kept secret, it will prove that all of the houses can get along, without house rivalry," said the Head Boy, Marvin Schaffer, a seventh year Hufflepuff.  Belinda Grisdale, the Head Girl, nodded in approval.  

         "Then it's settled, then.  We won't tell the teachers or staff now.  This Event may become no more.  It is not harmful enough, yet, to get our school closed for,' said Belinda.  

         "Now, I think it's best we all return to our dormitories,' said Marvin. 

         Students walked silently to their dormitories.  They all knew it would be hard to keep this clandestine.  But it was worth it if it meant a temporary break in house rivalry.  The inter-house relationships improved.

And the Fifth power grew stronger.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: That chapter was somewhat difficult to write.

I hope you all liked it.  I'm trying to work on tying in all of the things prior to this point in the story [the letters, the cloud, the kids,}, so it's being slightly more difficult to write.

If for some reason this story isn't done by June 21, please keep reading it anyway.  

Words of Wisdom: Poking things brings limited satisfaction.  Fun as it may be, after a while, your finger hurts.

Remember to Review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	14. The Crevi Game

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I've said I don't own most of this in every other chapter I've written so far, so if it's that important to you, check any other chapter's disclaimer, ok?

I thought so.

Author's Note: Hey people! I'm back! Sorry this chapter has taken awhile, but I put a lot of thought into this!  I'm trying to bring everything in past chapters together {or at least hint where it might come together, I'm not telling everything so early in the story} and add in some new things at the same time.  Plus, I have to check for errors I've made.  Spell check is only so faithful.

So anyway, thanx so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them!

Read.

Review.

Results! {Sorry for the strange third R, but it makes sense to me, I'm waiting for my SAT scores}

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Thirteen**

         The next month or so passed with nothing unbelievably out-of-the-ordinary happening.  It was late October, almost Halloween, and the statistics were as follows:

         Tests Aced by Hermione: 17

         Potions Exploded During Class by Neville: 12

         Times Fred & George Weasley Got Detention: 26

         Times When A Student Almost Told a Teacher About the Secret: 0

         Letters Harry Got From P.1 Rebirth: 0

Yes, it was true.  This school year had so far been like any other.  For Harry, at least.  

         The teachers, particularly Professors Snape and McGonagall, were extremely taken aback by the lack of inter-house rivalry.  It had been at least a century and a half since Hufflepuff and Slytherin were on any sort of speaking terms.  Usually, the Hufflepuffs were afraid of the Slytherins, so they had never had a discussion.  Ravenclaws and Gryffindors always fought back against the Slytherins, since they had higher advantages.  

But every house was getting along now.

         It was a sight to see, Draco Malfoy helping Neville Longbottom to brew an adequate Silencing Potion.  From the Divination classroom at the top of the North Tower, you could see a friendly game of Quidditch being played down on the pitch.  Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff.  Ravenclaw was up by 40 points.

         But perhaps the most mind-boggling spectacle of all was in the library.  Professor Snape had asked for a very difficult essay on the side effects of uncommon advanced potions.  It needed to fill three pages of parchment.  There were very few side effects, but many things that could cause them.  The potions book only went so far.  To get enough information, students had to resort to the library.  Draco Malfoy had never taken out a book from the Hogwarts all-student library before; he would need help finding one.  He asked Hermione Granger, and she helped him find several books.  When he left the library, he thanked her.

Madame Pince had never been so bewildered in her life.

*       *       *       *

         Harry did get another letter.  Three, actually, but none from P.1 Rebirth.  The other two were from people Harry had not heard from in a very long time.  One was from Hagrid.  The other was from Sirius.

         Harry read Hagrid's first.  He noticed the scribble handwriting right away.  He hadn't seen Hagrid yet this school year, Gryffindors and Slytherins were having their Care of Magical Creatures lessons in the spring instead of in the fall, Dumbledore had thought it would be easier for Hagrid to care for the animals that way.  

                                                                        _Dear Harry,_

_         Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't written yeh in a while, been busy over the summer, I have.  Tell yeh about it later.  Wanted to know if yeh wanted to come down to me hut for a bit of tea on Saturday morning.  Ron and Hermione are invited too, o' course.  _

_         Hope yeh can come {I just learned how to make fudge brownies, some muggle thing.  I want all of yeh to try 'em}._

_                                                                        Cheers,_

**Hagrid**

         Harry asked Hermione and Ron if they wanted to go, though he knew they would say yes anyway.  He scrawled down a quick note and sent Hedwig off with it.  Then he moved on to the next letter.

                                                                        _Dear Harry,_

_         I'm so sorry that I haven't written to you in a while.  I've been busy catching up with some people over the summer, so I didn't have the chance to write.  Also, Dumbledore said I'd best not write letters to you for some reason, I think he said there was some sort of danger, he wouldn't explain anymore.  Though I suppose we have to trust him._

_         Like I was saying, I've met up with some people, some that I think will interest you.  Remus Lupin, as I'm sure you'll remember, has been helping me track people down all summer.  One of them is Arabella Figg.  You know her; she's the Dursleys' neighbor.  She said you are a very bright boy, but were sometimes kind of strange towards her at times.  But you never really knew her for who she is, so I'll introduce you two some day.  The last may interest you the greatest.  His name is Mundungus Fletcher.  He is an Unspeakable.  You've heard of them, I believe.  He works with the Department of Mysteries.  That is not the part that will interest you, I don't think.  He used to play Chinese checkers with your mum.  They grew up in the same neighborhood, so he might be able to tell you some things, if you get to know him well enough._

_         I really must go now; we've got so much work to do, and so little time to do it.  Be careful, Harry._

**_Sirius_**

         Harry was very happy to hear from Sirius, it had been a long time.  He always thought there was a certain something about Mrs. Figg! But Sirius had been right about what would interest him the most.  Harry might actually get to talk to someone who knew his mother when she was a child.  Maybe he'd even find out some unknown things about the Dursleys, things that might make his next summer a bit easier.

         Harry was about to show the letters to Ron and Hermione when he saw the third one.  He hadn't noticed it at first.   He thought he knew who it had to be from.

He was wrong.

                                                                        _Harry,_

_         This may be one of the last times you are contacted by me.  These letters should not even be written.  There is a very important message in this letter.  Did you hear that? A very important message._

_         You have been chosen to play.  There are seven players.  Seven pieces.  Each piece is shaped to symbolize the player it represents.  You will not know what yours looks like until the final roll.  Rules are as follow:_

_         Welcome to the Crevi Game!_

_         I'm Crevi Quinque, that's my name!_

_         I'll guide you as you travel the board,_

_         To help you try to score the reward,_

_         Is there a catch? Oh yes, indeed,_

_         These simple rules you must heed:_

_         Take caution when you roll the dice, _

_         But if you forfeit, pay the price,_

_         And if you try to jump ahead,_

_         You'll go the other way instead,_

_         As you play, your piece will move,_

_         But to continue, you must prove,_

_         You are able to: pay the tax_

_         Complete the puzzle, fill the cracks,_

_         These simple rules do not abuse,_

_         They're here to help you win or lose,_

_         So hurry, hurry, step right up!_

_         Drop the dice out of the cup!_

_         Hurry up, but don't be slow!_

_         It starts right now, Ready, Set, Go!_

_                                                                                 Sincerely,_

_M.F., __Master of Games_

         Harry was thoroughly confused.  Never in his life had he ever gotten such a strange letter.  He knew that whoever M.F., Master of Games was, they needed serious mental help.  He was chosen to play? The only thing he liked playing was Quidditch, and occasionally a game of chess with Ron, even though Ron always won.  There was the giant chess game in his first year, but this was entirely different.  It sounded like a board game.  With dice, and player pieces, and cards that tell you to skip a space or lose your next turn.  It sounded muggle.

         "Hey Harry, wanna play a game of chess?" asked Ron, who had just entered the boys dorm where Harry was.

         "I'm not really in the mood for chess right now, Ron.  Do you know anything about Chinese checkers?" asked Harry.

         "I love Chinese checkers!" said someone from a corner of the room.  Harry and Ron looked over to see Neville.  He was sitting in a corner doing homework, and was so quiet Harry hadn't even noticed him there.

*       *       *       *

         Enna was very confused.  Never in her life had such a perplexing thing come up.  It had not been expected, not been planned for.  Or maybe it had been planned for, but certainly not by Terces, they never planned anything so far ahead.  

         Enna had several problems that were making her life difficult.  The first was the event that occurred was not caused by Terces, so she had to find out what did cause it before the powers discovered what had happened.  If they did, they would be mad.  Another problem was a letter they had gotten.  It was about some sort of game.  Terces was known for mastery of games, so they had received several things with the letter.  They had gotten the letters that had to be sent to the other players, and they sent them out. They did not, however know who the other players were.  Any school owl was supposed to be able to get the letter to someone without knowing who it was supposed to be sent to.  It was a very mystifying idea for someone to create this.  Enna reread part of the letter, starting in the middle.

         _As you are sure to know, for as long as it has existed Terces has been known {by all those who know of it} to be the master of games of all sorts. Terces has been chosen to host the game.  This is a great honor, but there are also several things that must be done to have the game go smoothly.  There are seven players in all, and one of the following letters must be sent out to each of them.  Give any letter to any school owl, and the owl should be able to locate the player and deliver the letter successfully {even without knowing the address}.  Do not read the other players letters.  You have been warned.  Do not be confused by this, all secrets will be revealed in time._

         All secrets will be revealed in time?  Now any Terces sodalis knew the meaning of a good secret, but usually it was them keeping them, not them having secrets be hidden against.  Basically, there was virtually nothing about Hogwarts that Terces did not know.

But there are always exceptions. 

         Enna had sent out the other six letters, but she could not possibly be entirely trusting that the owls could deliver them without an address.  She pondered this for a while, and then read on.

         _Terces will be playing as well, but Terces together is one player.  This does not mean that one of the other six players could not be a Terces sodalis.  Since Terces is hosting the game, Terces shall know that of all the players:_

_         2 are in Gryffindor_

_         1 is in Slytherin_

_         1 is in Hufflepuff_

_         1 is in Ravenclaw_

_    And 2 have past graduated Hogwarts._

_         Yes, two players are adult wizards.  This does not result in an advantage for them, however, the game has been proved fair in all ways possible.  Thank you for taking the position as host involuntarily._

_                                                                        Sincerely,_

_                                                               M.F., _Master of Games

         It had been a most unusual letter in many ways.  M.F., the master of games? Who could that be…

         Enna was very tired from all this thinking.  There were just too many problems.  Other than the whole game thing, she had to teach Skully a thing or two.  He had been practicing his magic as a Terces sodalis early in the summer, working with the power that his house controlled.  Since he and Enna were in the same house, Enna had fun teaching him things.  Real, sarcastic, fun.  Yeah right.  Skully had sent random clouds to people, wrote messed up letters, and accidentally caused the global winds to change direction {several times}.  He also was very interested in learning the game of Chinese checkers.  Oh yes, it had been great fun trying to get the winds of the world back to normal, but it was nothing Enna hadn't dealt with before.  

         Then there was the last problem.  The fifth power of Terces, well, it wasn't really of Terces because it never cooperated.  But now, all of a sudden, it's doing something.  It takes at least two sodalises from at least two houses to complete a task given to them in order to cause the powers to work.  Enna, Skully, Reelle, and Strella had been given individual tasks, but Enna didn't finish hers.  She didn't start it.  

         So now there was this whole problem about what caused the fifth power to work.  It wouldn't just decide ' Hey, I think I'll just give the whole student body some kind of pain, just because I feel in the mood'.  It could have done that, but chances were very slim.  It was growing stronger, and whoever was controlling it was, too.  

         Enna sighed.  There was just nothing she could do.  She couldn't consult her power, because then It would know.  That would cause more complications than Enna wanted to even think about thinking about.  

         Of course, Enna never suspected that the Powers were trying to keep it from Terces.  There had been a deal made ten thousand years ago between the two, yes, but doesn't every good deal have a loophole? Somewhere that wasn't mentioned in the contract, overlooked, for whatever the reason?  Maybe no one thought _that_ was a possibility to occur, or maybe they were just too trusting to think that one side of the agreement would dare do _that_.  Yes, the loophole caused no problems in the beginning, but it was no longer the beginning now, was it?  Of course not!  That was long ago.  Some of the Powers were being abused or mistreated; one was actually being avoided by its sodalis.  One sodalis was scared of his own power.  Now, what good does that do for anyone, or any_thing?_  Absolutely none!  The fifth power had known, when Terces started out, that every deal has a loophole; every group an outcast; every day a setback; every plan a plan B.  Yes, the fifth power knew.  There is a reason for this, yes, because the fifth power has more of a mind than the other four.  This does not mean smarter in making decisions, but that its mind was more developed, it had seen more, many people had tried to tame the fifth power before.  If the fifth power had joined Terces, who would control it? Terces was the fifth house, for people who belonged nowhere else.  But there were some students in the school who weren't in Terces and belonged in another house.  They were everything any house prided itself for.  They were brave like Gryffindor, loyal like Hufflepuff, wise like Ravenclaw and cunning like Slytherin.  Terces was for people who weren't strong in any of those qualities.  But the fifth power thought:

What about the people who were strong in all of those qualities?

         Yes, the Power Fifth knew that one day, another circle would form.  Those four students would be the only ones that could ever tame the fifth power.  They alone could stop Terces from rising back to power and running the school.  They could save Hogwarts.

         The only problem was, they didn't know who they or each other were.  And if they were to find out, they would have to play the fifth power's game, and they would play by the rules.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  Raise your hand if you think that chapter is a little weird!  I am raising my hand.  I don't think I've ever written anything more peculiar.  That last part was all me burning off steam, so sorry if you don't like it.  

Words of Wisdom: "If you die I'll kill you!" a quote from lizzz wood, elijah's gurl.

So, show me the reviews!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	15. Terces Style

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: Honestly… assuming you've read the other chapters first, maybe because they go in order that way, makes me think that you know what would generally be in my disclaimers.

Author's Note:  I have begun to understand that this story is royally confusing.  This chapter may not have a ton of importance, I'm winging it, but I'll try to clear some things up.  You see, the master plot has only just been introduced, so I'm trying to work everything together.  It's just really hard, you know, because there's just so much to the plot, I'm trying to bring it in slowly so that it isn't one huge thing.  That would be even harder to understand, I think.  Plus, it would mean that I would have to type one very long chapter.  Also a difficulty is that there are different points of view that I need to bring equal attention to.

Thanx for all the reviews so far!  I haven't gotten one flamer! *dances in triangles*

Read.

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Rendezvous!

Um…yeah.

**Chapter Fourteen**

****

            Harry had bad luck with Halloweens.  His first year at Hogwarts he had encountered a troll in the girls bathroom on Halloween, the next year the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.  The past two years hadn't been too bad, but Harry just had a feeling that something was going to happen.

He wasn't the only one.

            Yes, t'was almost Halloween again, and very easy to tell by the atmosphere of the school.  Never had Hagrid had to carve so many giant pumpkins in his life.  Lit pumpkins floated around the school, replacing the usual torches and candles.  Students thought it was nice to get so into the holiday.  Peeves the poltergeist, on the other hand, saw it as a beautiful opportunity.  He would make himself invisible and drop pumpkins over students' heads.  Let's just say he spent some quality time with the Bloody Baron during the month of October.

            The ghosts seemed particularly involved in the holiday spirit.  Many of them would frighten the first years with the tragic, horrifying tales of their gruesome deaths.  Some of them preferred to come out of nowhere and shock students to a point of greatest terror.  It was the one time of the year that the ghosts ever got especially into the spirit of the season.  This year, however, the ghosts were more into it than in past years, it seemed.

            Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years had been suffering a heavy workload of homework.  Having to do an essay for almost every professor every week was getting to them in a bad sense.  Even Hermione had said it was unfair, and she was the one reminding everyone, "But we take O.W.L.s this year!"  The fifth years did take their Ordinary Wizard Level tests this year, but they _were_ in June, not November.  Plus, it was a practically proven fact that when homework was annoying Hermione Granger, it had to be really bad.  

            There was one exception, though.  The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was unable to teach for the first two months of the school year.  No one knew who the teacher was, and no one knew why he or she wasn't there at the beginning of the year.  But the students didn't mind as much, it meant no homework in that subject for two months.

            "But it's not even really homework, since we aren't technically at home," Ron complained to Harry and Hermione one day after Snape had assigned a massive potions assignment.  "See, it just doesn't seem right.  Maybe we should protest or something?" Ron continued.

            "Ron, you talk so much about homework these days, and it's always bad things about it for some reason," Hermione commented, looking confused at the fact that anyone could find in their heart no appreciation for a nice, long essay.  

            "Anything to get out of homework," Ron answered.

            "But you're not actually getting out of it," Harry pointed out.  "And only bad things come from it," he continued.  

            It was true that Ron complaining about the homework had only made matters worse.  Snape had said that he should consider it to be 'dorm work' and gave Ron a detention.  Ron had almost argued why he'd been given detention for speaking his mind, but no one liked to argue with Snape.

*          *            *            *

            One week before Halloween, on a stormy night during dinner, Albus Dumbledore made an announcement to the school.  It went like this:

            "Good evening, my students.  I have two announcements to make tonight, on the twenty-fourth of October.  First, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be teaching classes starting November first.  She will arrive on Halloween night, when I will be introducing her to all of you.  Second, also about Halloween night, I have decided that since the Yule Ball was such a success last year, that we will have a Halloween Masquerade this year.  All students in all years are invited to attend.  The masquerade will begin at 8 o'clock and end at midnight.  You will not have to come with a partner because if you are in costume, you may have trouble finding each other.  There are other reasons, which will be mentioned on a later date.  You do not have to wear a costume, but I would suggest it.  More information will follow.  Thank you."

            Sounds of interest spread throughout the hall.  None of the students ever remembered having a masquerade before.  

            "Well, that should be interesting to go to," Hermione said.  "But I'd much rather finish my homework in the peace of the library."

            "Can't you skip homework for one night? And it could be worthwhile, you never know…" Ron's voice trailed off.

            "It'll definitely be interesting, seeing everyone in costume,' Harry said.  

            "Right, Ron?" he added quickly, snapping Ron out of a trance.

            "What, oh, yeah, er, interesting.  Yes, it will be," he said hurriedly.  Hermione raised and eyebrow at Ron, and he blushed almost as red as his hair.

            Harry had other things on his mind about the masquerade.  Would he have to dance with someone?  He'd danced with Parvati Patil a few times at the Yule Ball last year, but it wasn't really the same with a costume.  And what would he wear for a costume? He didn't really want to go as himself, which would be embarrassing if everyone else was in costume.

            After dinner he, Ron, and Hermione walked up the stairs to the common room.  Harry half paid attention to Ron going on about the masquerade.  _I've still got time to figure this out,_ Harry thought to himself_. It's a week away, after all._

*          *            *            *

            The Halloween feast was a very spectacular one.  The table was covered with delicious looking sweets.  Lollipops, candies, and several healthier things, like salad and soups were there to choose from.  Hermione was muttering something to herself about what her parents might say if they saw this.  Harry smiled to himself; he knew that her parents were dentists.  

            The surroundings were sensational as well.  The ceiling, that was bewitched to look like the real sky, showed a storm coming in over the horizon.  You could just see the sun setting.  Harry looked up and saw several bats flying around, a little while later he realized that they were actually inside the building.  Glowing jack-o-lanterns floated in the air to provide light.  

            The students were deep in discussion.  You'd almost think that there was no actual eating going on because there was so much talk.  Everyone seemed to be too excited about the masquerade that night to eat.  Even the normally bookish Hermione could be heard talking about what she would wear, and that was a sight worth seeing {conversation worth hearing?}.

            Then, it was time that Dumbledore introduced the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.  

            "It gives me greatest pleasure to introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," he said.

            Once Harry saw who the teacher was, he didn't even need to hear her name being said.  He looked up at the woman that would be the teacher and nearly choked on his truffle in disbelief.

            _Mrs. Figg?_

*          *            *            *

            "What's wrong, Harry?" asked Hermione.

            "I know the new teacher, that's all," Harry said quickly.

            "You do? So does that mean that we'll be like, her teachers pets?" asked Ron.

            "I don't think so,' Harry said uncertainly.  "Can we talk about this later? I still need a costume!" he continued.

            It was fact that most students would be wearing costumes to the masquerade.  Hermione was going to dress as Bathilda Bagshot, her favorite author.  Ginny was going as Celestina Warbeck, the famous singer who was often featured on the WWN {Wizard Wireless Network}.  Fred and George would be going in very original costumes, or so they said.  They didn't really want to dress up too much, but it was probable that they would be unrecognizable.  They didn't tell anyone what they were going as.  Ron pointed out that maybe they didn't know yet, but Harry wasn't so sure.  Ron was going as Aidan Lynch, the Quidditch player.  He'd really wanted to go as Viktor Krum, but that would be difficult for Hermione, as she'd broken up with him on account of distance.  Ginny was like Fred and George, and wouldn't say who she was going as.  Or _what_ she was going as.  

            Harry wasn't sure what he would go as, he hadn't decided yet, and it was the night of the masquerade.  

            "I reckon I could always just jump out a window and go as a ghost,' he said to Ron and Hermione as they left the Great Hall to prepare. 

            "But it wouldn't be a costume.  If you jumped out a window, you'd probably die and be a real ghost," Ron said.

            "Harry, we'll help you think of something," Hermione said, trying to sound sure of herself.

            Harry shook his head sadly.  It seemed hopeless.  He, Ron, and Hermione kept discussing the matter while they walked up the staircase to the Gryffindor common room.  

*          *            *            *

            It was the perfect time to make a move.  Terces had it all planned.  They would cause an effect, oh yes.  Every Terces sodalis was attending the masquerade in a costume, but all eight costumes would have similar themes.  

            Enna sighed with joy as she slipped her mask over her face.  Even if she still were a student at Hogwarts, no one would recognize her.  The other sodalises had costumes that would make them unrecognizable as well.  

            Enna left the Atrium with confidence, she was sure that the plan would work.  How could it fail? 

            Yes, there would be great results from this event.  The school would be effected, all right, Terces style.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  So, for all the reviewers who've had to wait, was it worth it?  How are these chapters going over?  If you review, I'll try to update sooner, I promise!  

Words of Wisdom:  A boy who makes you cry isn't worth crying over because a boy worth crying over won't make you cry.

            So anyway, review!

Roses are red, violets are blue, I'll like it when you all review!

I love you all!

Ciao! {This may seem incredibly weird, but I am not Italian, and I don't speak Italian, either.

~Starry


	16. Halloween Part I

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter, so please don't sue.

Author's Note: I'm finally getting back into the hang of writing again.  I had this weird thing, something like writer's block, only different.  It was like, I knew what I wanted to write, but I wasn't sure how to write it.  It was very strange.  

I think the hardest thing for me to write about this story is this section right here.  When you are still not entirely certain what the plot is, but you have to write the middle part of the story to get to the ending, which, by the way, I already know is going to be good. I already know the last paragraph of this fanfic, but I have to get through the middle of the story first.

Anyway, enough of my babbling. Thanx for the reviews, everyone! Sorry if the characters seem a little OOC.

Read. 

Review.

Random.

**Chapter Fifteen**

            Terces had a plan, the Fifth Power knew.  It knew everything that Terces did.  This was a very good advantage to have.

            The Fifth Power had mind.  It possessed wisdom.  It needed no bravery, for the reason that when the Fifth Power was in full speed, nothing could stop it.  It got the loyalty it deserved.  It could persuade anyone to do anything, and in a fair way.  It was all Terces wasn't; it was un-elemental. 

            The Fifth Power was the only thing that could help Hogwarts.  But Hogwarts didn't know it.  Hogwarts barely knew that it was going to have problems.  Terces didn't actually even qualify as a problem, Terces was a barrier.  It kept Hogwarts from doing exactly what could destroy Terces.  The only thing that could destroy Terces.  

            The Fifth Power was Hogwarts' best defense, it's only defense.  But it couldn't stand alone.  It needed help from its four successors.  They needed to discover each other first, though.

            It was Halloween night at Hogwarts.  The four successors were getting ready to go to a masquerade.  They didn't know what they were yet, and time was up.  They would have to be shown what they must do, and they had to be shown that night.

*          *            *            *

            "You could be a pirate," Hermione suggested to Harry as she was pulling clothes out of his trunk.

            "The eye patch wouldn't fit over my glasses," Harry said, happy that he had an excuse to not be a pirate.

            "Oh, yeah.  How about a …?" Hermione said.

            Hermione had been going through Harry's trunk for about a half hour, sifting through his clothes to try and find something he could wear as a costume.  So far she had suggested a pirate, an auror, and a prince {she offered to turn him into a frog first}.  Harry had shot down every idea she had.

            "Why don't you just go as a dementor?" asked Ron.

            "And have the whole school freak out? I don't think so," Harry replied.

            "How about a Quidditch player, like Ron?" Hermione suggested.  Harry realized that this had to be her last idea; she had gone through all of his stuff already, two times.  

            "I guess I could, but it isn't as original when someone else has the same costume," Harry said.

            "It's not the same exact costume.  Ron's going as Aidan Lynch, you can go as… some other player," Hermione said, tossing some of Harry's things back into his trunk.

            "Yeah, Harry. You could be the Irish keeper, Ryan.  I'm not sure what his first name is, though.  I think its Colin.  Colin Ryan, that sounds about right,' Ron said, leaning against Harry's bedpost.

            "Plus, it's all we've got," Hermione said, closing Harry's trunk shut.

            "Fine, but how are we going to make the costume?" he asked.

            "Simple. We just use a temporary coloring charm on your robes to make them green, add a leprechaun and have it say Ryan on the back,' Hermione said matter-of-factly.  

            "Yeah, what she said,' said Ron.

            So Hermione used a simple spell to color Harry's robes green {_Verdicio!_} and added the details.  

            Harry had to admit that his robes did look very realistic.  Hermione had apparently helped Ron with his, too, because his were identical to Harry's except they said 'Lynch'.

            While Harry and Ron had been getting ready, Hermione had been preparing in her own dorm.  A little while later, they all met in the common room.

            "Nice costume, Hermione, you are supposed to be a writer, right?" asked Harry.  

            Hermione was dressed in what looked like regular robes.  They were an inky black satin that shimmered in the light.  The only difference between Hermione's costume and the regulation uniform was the fact that there was a design of a dancing quill embroidered on the robes, and it really danced.  Hermione was also walking everywhere with a feather quill and parchment.

            "Yes. Bathilda Bagshot, she's one of my all time favorites,' Hermione gushed, clearly very excited that someone remembered.

            "Yeah, you look, er, nice," said Ron.

            "Your costumes look fantastic, you guys.  You really look like Quidditch players," Hermione said.

            "Are you saying that because we really do, or because you actually designed the costumes?" Ron asked suspiciously.

            "Oh no, they really look realistic," Hermione said innocently.  

            "Yeah, whatever you say,' Ron said as they walked through the portrait hole.  The three of them walked through the castle into the entrance hall.

            "Wow, your costumes look great!" said a voice from behind them.  Of course, it's hard to judge costumes from behind, but Kylie D'Alessandro already guessed what they looked like.

            "Hey Kylie,' said Harry.

            "Hi Kylie!" said Hermione.

            "Hey," said Ron.

            "Hi guys! Let me guess.  Ron and Harry, you guys are obviously Irish Quidditch players, right?" Kylie asked.

            Harry and Ron nodded.

            "What players are you?" Kylie asked them.

            "I'm Lynch, and Harry's Ryan," Ron said.

            "They're good players.  And Hermione, you must be a writer, but which one?" Kylie said, obviously thinking.

            "Bathilda Bagshot,' said Hermione, "She's one of my favorites."

            "She's a good writer,' Kylie agreed.

            "You have quite a costume, too, Kylie," Hermione said.

            "Guess what I am," Kylie said, as if she knew no one would guess.

            Kylie had a very unusual costume indeed.  She, like Hermione, was wearing basic robes.  Except her robes were navy velvet, with gold stars zooming around all over them.  Every few seconds, several stars would form the same constellation.  

            "You must be something to do with space… Are you… the universe?" Harry asked.

            Kylie shook her head no.

            "Are you a galaxy?" asked Ron.  Kylie shook her head no.

            "Are you a star of some sort?" Hermione asked.

            "I'm disappointed, I thought someone would know what I was…" Kylie said, looking put out.

            "Hey guys!" chirped a voice from behind Kylie.

            "Nice costume Ginny!" Ron said to his sister as Kylie moved aside to let her through.

            "Thanks, but do you know what it is even?" asked Ginny.

            "Yeah, you're a, a …" Ron broke off.

            "Celestina Warbeck," said Kylie.

            "Yeah, how'd you know?" asked Ginny.

            "Celestina Warbeck is the only one to wear tie-dye robes, ever," said Kylie.

            "I'm glad someone knew what I was.  I honestly only thought that people would notice once I told them," Ginny said, looking relieved.

            "Do you know what I am?" Kylie asked.

            "Um, a constellation?" guessed Ginny.

            "Yes! But does anyone know which one I am?" Kylie asked.

            Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all shook their heads.

            "I'm Cassiopeia! Honestly, don't you guys study stars at all?" Kylie asked.

            "I think we did once…" Ron said.

            "You've forgotten already, Ron? We studied them from the astronomy tower in our first year," Hermione explained.

            "Oh, yeah, if you say so," Ron said.

            "Ahem," said an authoritive voice from the doors that led to the Great Hall.

            The students all looked over to see Professor McGonagall.

            "You may now enter,' she said, and opened the doors.

*          *            *            *

            The Great Hall looked marvelous.  As if it wasn't enough that there still were the bats and floating pumpkins, there was also a full moon out, so there was a sort of eerie effect on the hall.  

            Hermione was looking up at the moon while she was walking, which wasn't the best idea, because she slammed right into a jester.  

            "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said.

            Whoever it was in the jester costume had a flair for designing, because it was a very elaborate costume.  The colors of the costume were a deep violet and an eccentric opal color.  Harry had sworn he'd seen that purple color somewhere before, he just couldn't place where.  

            "Who are you?" Harry asked the jester.

            Before it could answer, a medieval princess with an equally elaborate costume walked by and grabbed onto the jester's arm, pulling him along.

            "That was…interesting," Hermione said.

            Harry had a feeling that the jester was someone that they all knew.  He didn't know why, but he just did.

            As they continued walking, they saw many interesting costumes.  One girl was dressed as a princess, but it couldn't have been the princess from before, because this girl's costume was pink, the other girl's had been violet.  Harry was almost afraid to walk past Colin Creevey, who was dressed as Harry Potter.  There was also a boy Harry didn't recognize dressed as Professor Snape.   There was also a very interesting costume, that of a violet dragon.  Harry couldn't tell who was wearing it, but whoever it was, was talking to a peasant {also wearing purple}.  Then there was the bard, who went around telling random stories to random people, and they were usually told in verse.  

            Purple, in various shades, seemed to be a popular hue for costumes.  Harry saw at least eight people wearing shades of violet that night.  Some of these costumes would not be thought of as costumes worn in purple, though.  For example, there was the knight.  He had deep, very dark, purple chain mail.  There was also a Queen, but royalty was usually in purple, anyway. Finally, there was some girl dressed as a medieval executioner.  She seemed to like being able to scare people by swinging her axe around.  It seemed that these people must all be friends of some sort, or a club.  But Hogwarts had no clubs, or none that Harry knew of.  They also had their costumes highlighted with small patches of opal, which looked magnificent paired with purple.  

            Dumbledore had gotten the Weird Sisters to play again.  Harry couldn't tell exactly what they were singing, but he didn't like it too much.  Hermione and Ron seemed to like it; they looked like they were having a ball dancing out on the dance floor.  Harry wasn't dancing with anyone; he didn't really feel like asking anyone.  He also didn't like dancing.  

            But he had no choice once someone grabbed his arm and randomly started dancing with him.

            "Oh, hi Kylie," he said once he realized who it was.

            "Harry, we have to talk.  Something's going to happen, someone's planning for something tonight, some sort of attack or something," she said in a hushed whisper.  

            "Wait, what? An attack? How do you know? When?" Harry asked in a very confused tone.

            "I heard the executioner talking to the jester.  That whole group's kind of weird isn't it? They all seem to be together… I don't know exactly when it's going to happen, but something is, and it'll be tonight!" Kylie continued.

            "Why are you telling me?" Harry asked.

            "You seemed like the person to tell.  Hermione said that you usually know something about all the bad stuff that goes on around this place.  Like, in your second year, didn't you hear voices in your head or something?" Kylie asked hurriedly.

            "I was hearing a snake talking while it was moving through the plumbing.  I'm a parselmouth, it was no big deal," Harry said, wishing he didn't have to discuss that.

            "You're a parselmouth? Cool, me too.  But anyway, Hermione said that you always get some kind of warning before some disaster happens, like some weird kind of dream, or weird letters, I don't know, weird stuff like that," Kylie said.

            Harry stopped dancing.  "She said I was getting weird letters?" he asked, hoping that Hermione wouldn't have told about P.1 Rebirth.

            "No, not exactly.  She said that you usually got some sort of message before something happened.  I don't know if you've ever gotten letters, but I have, and they're freaking me out!" Kylie said, looking extremely panicked.

            "Yes, I have gotten letters.  Some were written in blood, and showed up at places I've never been to.  Like, one was at the ministry the day I was there,' Harry explained.  He wasn't sure why he was telling al this to Kylie, he barely knew her, but since she was getting letters too…

            "One of mine was written in blood, and the others were from some person with a confusing name.  P.2 Rebirth, or something like that,' she replied, looking like she was concentrating.

            Harry stopped everything he was doing.  His head was spinning.  All of those letters, he wasn't the only one getting them.

            "Kylie, mine were from P.1 Rebirth.  If there's a P.1 and a P.2, there's got to be more.  Which means…" Harry started.

            "That other people are getting letters too,' Kylie finished for him.

            Kylie's face suddenly went frozen with shock.  

            "Harry, I just remembered something.  It was in the eighth edition of Hogwarts, A History, and it said something about a group that seemed very much like this," she said slowly.

            Just then, the Great Hall went black, and Harry heard Kylie scream.

            "Kylie? Are you okay?" he asked into the darkness.

            Nothing answered.

            Harry moved his arms around the space in front of him, where Kylie had been standing moments ago.  It was dead air.

            Voices could be heard panicking, and then, without reason, the Hall went silent.

            In the center of the Hall, there were eight people, standing in a circle.  A violet cloud was hovering above them, glowing.  The group said an incantation, starting quietly, then repeating it louder and louder until they were yelling.

            Harry couldn't see the scene that well.  He tried to move closer through the crowd, but everyone seemed paralyzed; no one would begin to step aside.  Everyone was, literally, frozen with fear.  This or anything like it had never occurred at Hogwarts, or so they'd heard.  But Hogwarts had been denied the truth, and now they would find it out.  

            Harry tried to push between a few people, but two strong hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back.  Before he could yell out, one hand covered his mouth.  The voice of whoever it was that had Harry whispered in his ear.

            "Keep it down.  You do not know who you are, I will tell you.  You'll be with your friend.  It'll be fine, just drink this."

            With that, someone held a phial to Harry's mouth and tipped his head upward, causing a potion of some sort to go down Harry's throat.  Harry felt only dizziness at first, then he felt like a cool breeze had come over him.  Then his find went blank, as he felt himself begin to fall down.

Down, down, down…

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  That chapter was a pain to write.  Then, for all or you guys' good, I had to edit it, and I made a lot of mistakes in the first draft.  Y'all were right, I did use Latin for the incantation stuff.  But I used a different language for the names.  

Words of Wisdom:  The question is, did the chicken cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

Anyways, thanx so much for the reviews.  Y'all have been extremely patient.  

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	17. Halloween Part II: Four Warriors

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: This could easily go without saying, but because I'm broke and won't be able to cough up the cash if I was sued, I don't own Harry Potter.  Anything you see that you recognize from HP belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: I've been trying, see? I just update yesterday and now I'm updating again because I know how much it means to all of you {not to mention how fun writing this story is for me}.  I'm sorry if Harry seems a little OCC {off character completely}.  It's been difficult with his dialogue.  Why must he make this so hard for me?!  

            Ok, guys, this chapter will give a ton of important information.  A ton.  Try to process it as best you can.  I hope it isn't too much.  But it all has to come out at the same time.

Read.

Review.

Relax. {A special thanx to Violet Eyes for suggesting R words!}

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Sixteen**

****

            Harry didn't know where he was when he woke up.  It seemed to be a strange sort of room, with mirrors on every wall.  Harry opened his eyes wider and then squinted to see his surroundings.  

            He was in a small room, with, as said, mirrors on every wall.  Or, maybe they weren't mirrors.  Harry stood up and walked closer to one of the walls.  He reached out a hand.  The wall was wet.  No, this room was not mirrored.  It was painted silver with water running down the walls, into small moats around the room.  It was the strangest thing Harry had ever seen.  There was one door, an old, wooden one with some sort of rusting metal sign on it.  The ceiling was strange, too.  Harry wanted to touch it, but it was too high to reach.  It looked as though it was made of gold.  The richest, softest, highest-karat type of gold.  The kind that you just had to touch, to see if it was the real thing.  The floor was strange, also.  It was painted.

            The floor was very interesting.  It was painted with pictures.  They showed several knights.  One was slaying a dragon, one sword fighting, one riding a horse towards what looked like a battlefield, and one he couldn't tell what it was doing because someone was lying on top of it.

            At last, Harry realized that he wasn't alone.  Actually, there were three other people there.  He didn't really want to go near them, in case they suddenly made some movement, but he wanted to know who they were.  Harry walked around the first person he found and crouched to try and seen their face.  He didn't know his name, but he recognized him as a Ravenclaw seventh year.  

            Whoever he was, he looked very much asleep.  So Harry continued to the next person.  Harry thought that she looked vaguely familiar, some girl from, maybe Hufflepuff? What had her name been, he tried to remember.  Was it Eleanor something? , he thought.  He wasn't sure.  Since she also showed no signs of awaking any time soon, he moved on to where the final person in the room lay.  

            "Kylie?" he breathed when he saw her.  Even before he'd seen her face, he'd seen her copper hair.   The same person who'd kidnapped Harry had also taken Kylie.  This was interesting.  Both he and Kylie had gotten letters, both were kidnapped, was it a possibility that the other two had gotten letters as well?

            Kylie was stirring.  

            "Harry?" she said, squinting her eyes.

            "Yeah, it's me.  There are two other kids down here, too.  I don't know who they are, though," He said.

            "Where are we? Why are we here? Is that water on the walls?" she asked, apparently very confused.

            "I don't know where we are, or why we're here.  Yes, there is water on the walls, but I don't know why,' he explained.

            "I can tell you that," said a voice from the doorway.  

            Harry turned his head sharply, and was sure that Kylie must've done the same.

            "Who are-?" Kylie started to ask.

            "I, Ms. D'Alessandro, am Mundungus Fletcher, Master of Games.  I am in charge of the Crevi Game, in which all four of you are players.  Oh, are the other two not up yet? They should be soon," the man said quickly.

            Just then the two students woke up.  

            "What am I doing here?" the girl asked.

            "What the-?" the boy started to say.

            Mundungus Fletcher brought his hands together, then moved them quickly sideways to silence them.

            "If you will allow me to explain, without interruption, I will be able to tell you that you are not in any danger.  As of right now," the man began.

            Harry took this time to observe the man.  He was tall and thin, with grey hair and a mustache that curled up.  He had a monocle that made him look very intelligent.  He seemed to bear a resemblance to the man Harry recognized from the cover of a muggle game, Monopoly.

            Mundungus began to speak.

            "I am Mundungus Fletcher, Master of Games.  I am in charge of the Crevi Game, which you are all playing.  Yes, you do not know it, but the game has already begun.  It has not been any of your turns yet, however.  The Crevi Game was made for a reason.  You will be told all of this tonight.  

            "You have all received letters.  Harry, yours were from P.1 Rebirth.  Kylie, yours were from P.2 Rebirth.  Eleanor, yours were from P.3 Rebirth.  Raymond, yours were from P.4 Rebirth.  They told of strange and mysterious happenings that would take place this year at Hogwarts, about an Evil.  An Evil so dangerous and powerful that it is spelled with a capital E.

            "By the way, do we all know each other? In case you don't recognize each other, I will say each of your names.  Harry Potter, Kylie D'Alessandro, Eleanor Branstone, and Raymond Cruz.  There, now I can continue.

            "This Evil, it is all that the letters say it is.  It can control Hogwarts, it has before.  It controlled the years 995 to 998.  It caused events that aren't even spoken of anymore.  Not necessarily because they were so bad, which they were, but because the whole, I guess you could call it a sequence, was kept secret.  

            "This Evil is composed of five powers.  Four of them are controlled by a certain society; a society of outcasts.  The Fifth Power, however, has never been controllable.  But there is mind behind the Fifth Power.  There are people behind it.

            "Ever since the Evil left the school, which was the year that the oldest person in the society left the school, the Fifth Power looked to the future.  There was only one person in that time that could help the power.  But it is better now.  There are four of you.  In the future, the Fifth Power found its hope.  It saw people who could help it fight next time the Evil was reborn.

            "This is why your letters are from, for example, P.1 Rebirth. P.1 means Part One, of the Rebirth.  The Rebirth of the society, the Rebirth of the Evil.  There are four parts of the society, four people that run it.  Four powers, each run by one of the students.

            "Yes, students are responsible for this Evil. Students who did not fir in any house, so the Sorting Hat kept its silence when it was their turn.  They are not really brave like Gryffindors; cunning like Slytherins, loyal like Hufflepuffs, or clever like Ravenclaws.  They are not strong in any of these qualities.  They do not belong in any house.  But they have to be placed in a house.  So they stay in the dorms of and have lessons with the house that they fit in best with, even though they don't fit in with any of them.

            "So they formed their own house.  It meets in secret places, more secret than, maybe, the Chamber of Secrets.  They control this Evil.  Each member, from each different house, controls one of the powers.  Once one of the members graduated Hogwarts, the Evil lost power, because the society had not been able to complete some things to keep the evil permanently, as planned.  But this society has a second chance, because the society is rising to power again.  

            "Are you all getting all of this?  I know it's hard to process, because maybe you thought that this sort of thing couldn't happen in Hogwarts.  Welcome to the real world.  Before I continue, do you have any questions?" Mundungus was finally taking a break from his speech.

            "Yeah, this society, what are they called? I mean, don't they have a name?" Kylie asked.

            "Before I answer that, I must say that none of this can ever be mentioned outside of this room.  One student in each of your houses is in the society, plotting Evil on the school.  One of your own friends, perhaps.  To answer your question, the secret society is called Terces," Mundungus said.

            _Terces,_ Harry thought.  What a strange name.  He had plenty of questions that he wanted to ask, but he didn't know how to ask them, or which ones to ask first.

            "If there are four students in this school that the Sorting Hat was silent when they went up to be sorted, how come we can't remember any of that happening?" Raymond asked.

            "If I speak truthfully, did you not witness Sarah Zakharova not be sorted into any particular house this year?" Mundungus asked.

            "Sarah? She's in my house!" Eleanor shrieked.

            "Yes, but never mention this to her. Or anyone. Ever.  She is the only Terces member that we know the identity of, we don't know who the others are yet.  To answer you question, Albus Dumbledore has put memory charms on the school after that part of the sorting every time that it happens.  One year, I think Harry and Kylie's first year, two students were put in Terces," Mundungus answered.

            "You mean that our own headmaster has been lying to us all these years?" Kylie asked.

            "Even Dumbledore does not know about Terces.  No one does, except for Terces and us.  I am the in the service of the Fifth Power.  I am the only one. The Ministry of Magic doesn't even know, because I'm an Unspeakable.  The Fifth Power needs us to help stop Terces before it's too late.  Hogwarts will be plagued for eternity if we don't stop Terces," 

            "Why does it have to be _us_ that does this? Couldn't full-fledged wizards and witches do this instead? What if we mess up?" Harry asked.  He had to say something.

            "Terces is made up of members that don't belong anywhere in Hogwarts.  But you four could all be in any house and fit in.  You are the only four.  The Fifth Power knows this, and it needs your help.  We are Hogwarts's only defense," Mundungus said, looking very solemn.

            "So, are you saying that, basically, the future of Hogwarts is in the hands of four students who aren't even old enough to apparate yet?" Raymond asked.

            "Basically, yes," Mundungus said.

            "Oh, okay," said Kylie, looking calm.  "Wait, WHAT?"

            "Why us? I mean, you just answered that, but there's got to be some other reason that it's got to be kids instead of adults! I mean, there are other reasons, right?" Kylie said, looking around the room frantically.

            "Each of you could be in any house and fit in because you all have very interesting life stories.  Some of you have connections with Voldemort.  Others have connections with Hogwarts headmasters.  One of you even has a family of Seers.  There are other things that make you all very different from other students.  Two of you come from families that have been ripped apart.  All four of you are parselmouths. 

            " I would say exact information with names, but I don't want anyone to get very uncomfortable.  But you all need to trust each other to an extent that you can know these things," he finished.

            "I hope that you will be open with each other, really.  I know that this seems like it's too much to process.  But you have to know.  A man pretending to be a wise man once said 'Constant Vigilance!'  Take something from that phrase.  You'll need it," Mundungus said.

            "So, is the Terces society the people wearing purple costumes in a circle in the Great Hall?" Eleanor asked.  

            "Yes.  That is indeed Terces.  They are making a display of their power.  Maybe hexing the school, or something like that.  You must never confront them.  Especially Sarah, now that you know she is in it.  Terces will find out who you all are eventually, but if all goes well, that won't happen until the end," Mundungus said.

            "The end," Harry said, more to himself, but everyone heard him.  

            "The end may or may not be where you want to go," Mundungus said.

            "And now, it is midnight.  I think that you should all, at long last, go to your dorms.  I highly doubt that you will be getting much sleep, but tomorrow is a Saturday, so it's all right.  Tomorrow morning, you will wake up to find several scrolls waiting for you.  They will contain information about when we will meet next time.  We will always meet here.  Here, by the way, is the third floor below the Great Hall.  Hogwarts's basement, you could say. Below the dungeons, but above the Chamber of Secrets.  To get here, you will not have to worry.  Just make sure that you are alone at the time that we meet, and a portal will appear in front of you.  Just step through it, and you'll be here.  Now, I think you should all go to bed."

            The four students left through a portal that took them to the empty entrance hall.

            "Hey Harry," Kylie said.

            "Yeah?" Harry answered.

            "When Fletcher said that two people had torn apart families, I just well, yours is, and mine is too.  It's just, I don't know if you care, really, but I just thought maybe you'd like to know you weren't alone.  My mum was murdered by her dad, my grandfather for-for something.  My dad is, I don't know where, he's somewhere around the world and constantly moving.  But my mum, she was murdered right, right…" Kylie stopped there.  She looked like she was going to cry.

            "I have to go," she said, and ran towards the Slytherin dungeons before Harry could say anything.

            He didn't have a chance to talk to Raymond or Eleanor.  

            He never knew how much he and Kylie had in common. Torn apart families, both speak parseltongue, they're both part of a group that has to save Hogwarts from eternal Evil…

            _How is this going to work? _Harry thought to himself.  _Four students saving a school from evil powers and a thousand year old secret society? Who does Mundungus Fletcher think he is?_

            Then Harry remembered Sirius's letter.  Mundungus Fletcher had been the Unspeakable who played Chinese checkers with his mum.  But why had Harry forgotten that, when he'd finally met him?

            _Maybe because I was a bit preoccupied thinking about me and three other witches and wizards have to keep the school from being run by Terces?_

Harry was at the portrait of the Fat Lady by now.  

            "Hippogriff", he said to the portrait.  The door swung open and Harry was greeted by…

Silence.

            Inside the common room, everyone was sitting down, not talking.  Hermione was sitting in a big leather chair, staring into the fire.  Ron was leaning on the arm of it, also looking into the flames.  

            _Wow,_ Harry thought. _Terces must've made one heck of a scene._

            But Harry would here all about it tomorrow.  Right now he was exhausted.  Thinking no one would miss him if he just went to bed, he walked up to the dorms alone.  The only person up there was Neville, you could tell it was him, not just by the fact that it was his bed, but by the pink bunny slippers on his feet that hung over the end.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: I know, that was a weird part to end at, but it seemed right.  Was that chapter eventful enough for you? Now that the whole master plot is in there, I can start the action, the drama, the excitement.  Oh joy.  I hope you could all get that.  I might have to clean it up a little in the next chapter.

Words of Wisdom: Constant Vigilance!

Please Review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	18. Conversations, Explanations Plus a bonus...

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: Let's see. What I own: Kylie, Tomas, Ray, plot, Terces, The five powers, etc.  Does anyone see Harry Potter in there? Didn't think so.

Author's Note: I'm on a roll here, like a writing roll.  I'm loving it! Keep the reviews coming people! By the way, I hope you all like Kylie, cause she's important and here to stay!  And never go away, until the dying day! Ok, now I'm starting to talk like Eminem {don't own him either!}.  Go figure.  

            I would like to take this moment to say: HURRAY FOR PEOPLE WHO LOOK UP 'R' WORDS!

Ahem, that said…

Oh my goshness, thanx so much for the reviews! It's like, 86 now! 

*dances in decahedrons*  Here we go!

Read.

Review.

Rhyme!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Seventeen**

****

            "Harry wake up!" Ron Weasley yelled, as he was running into the boys' dorm.

            Harry woke up quickly to his friend's voice.

            "What? Huh? Did something happen?" Harry asked groggily, trying to find his glasses.

            "No, nothing too important.  It's one o'clock in the afternoon, and Hermione was getting worried.  Oh, and there's a scroll on your bed table,' Ron said.

            "Okay, thanks,' Harry said, looking at the scroll after finally finding his glasses.

            "Okay.  I'll just tell Hermione that you're not dead or fatally ill.  See you in a bit," Ron said as he walked towards the door.

            Harry nodded.  Then, he reached for the scroll.

            He unrolled it and began to read the script.

It read:

            Harry-

Our next meeting will be November the Sixteenth at midnight.  Be sure that you are completely alone at this time, and wait for the portal, which will appear at exactly 12:00 a.m.

          Be certain that you finish reading this scroll now, because when you roll it back up or put it down, it will spontaneously combust to insure that no one else reads it.

          At the next meeting we will discuss beginning plans of action, as well as report anything new, like letters, suspicious behavior, and such.

          Always remember that no matter how difficult these tasks may seem, you are fighting against people your own age, and be grateful that the advantage is on our side.  The Fifth Power knows everything Terces does, but will only tell us as much as we need to conquer Terces.  

          With these words I will end:

          Only in lack of light can darkness prevail.

                                                          Sincerely,

                                                                   M.F.

                                                                   Master of Games

            Harry sighed and put down the scroll, to watch it spontaneously combust into flame.  Harry had hoped it had all been a dream, but it all seemed just too real.  If it had been a dream, which it wasn't, it would have been a very realistic one.  

            _Only in lack of light can darkness prevail?_ What exactly did that mean?  It sounded like something that Harry had heard before; it was familiar.

All too familiar.

            Harry saw that the dorm room was empty now, which was a good thing.  If anyone had seen the scroll burst into fire, they might have thought that something out-of-the-ordinary was going down.  That would cause unnecessary attention for Harry, which was not needed at the present time.

            As he tried to remember what had happened last night, he recalled what Kylie had said about her family.  Her mother had been murdered? No wonder she always got a glazed look whenever she talked about her.  Had Kylie said her mother was murdered by her grandfather?  It was hard to remember.  Kylie also mentioned that her dad was constantly moving around.  

            _I wonder why,_ Harry thought to himself.  Kylie had never really been his close friend, but she had always seemed to be an interesting person, regardless of that.  He barely knew Raymond or Eleanor, but he would surely get to know them better now that they joined forces to defend Hogwarts.  

            Harry's stomach growled.  He hadn't eaten anything at the masquerade last night.  Then he remembered that he still didn't know what happened last night at the masquerade.  He got out of his bed, dressed quickly, and walked into the common room.

            It only contained a few people.  Ron and Hermione were there, Ginny Weasley, and a few first years Harry knew by face but not by name.

            "Hey guys," he said as he sat down on the couch near his two best friends.

            "Hey," Ron said.

            "Oh, hi Harry," Hermione said, not looking up from a book she was so clearly absorbed in.

            "Er, I left the masquerade early last night-I was really tired.  So can someone fill me in on what happened?" Harry asked slowly.

            "If you left early, how did you know something happened?" Hermione asked, finally tearing her gaze away from the pages.  She looked sad.

            "I, er, heard someone talking abut it in the dorm last night.  It took a while for me to fall asleep,' Harry fibbed quickly.  It was a close shave.

            "Oh, well, you kind of had to be there.  It was, oh, it was really scary!" Hermione said, shutting her book.

            "Yeah, it was.  At the beginning, no one moved.  After they disappeared, everyone ran,' Ron said, and Harry could swear he saw fear in his eyes.

            "Harry, I don't think I can talk about it.  I have to go," Hermione said, and with that she walked to the portrait hole and left the common room.

            "It was freaky, nothing like you ever would have seen before.  No one knows who they were.  They just formed a circle and, they started an incantation up.  It was awful,' Ron said.  "Hermione didn't talk at all after it last night.  She didn't smile, nod her head, or even blink, as far as I know.  It terrified her," he continued.  It seemed to Harry that he wouldn't be able to get any more out of Ron.  He looked pretty shells-hocked himself.

            "Oh.  Thanks for telling me.  I have to…go to the library, and finish some homework,' Harry said.  Ron nodded, and Harry walked out of the portrait hole to find someone to talk to.  He decided that maybe he should go to the library.  Someone might be there to talk to.

*          *            *            *

            "So you _really_ were turned into a ferret?" Kylie asked Draco Malfoy when she was at the library that morning.

            "Yes, _really_.  I don't want to talk too much more about this, I was just getting over it…" Malfoy said.

            "But, did you really bounce?" Kylie asked, looking very amused.

            "If you must know, yes I did.  But I told my father about it, and it was all taken care of," he defended quickly.

            "Wow.  Teachers would be fired if they did that at my old school,' Kylie commented, more to herself than Malfoy.

            "Yes, well, my father did as much as he could,' Draco drawled, though there was a hint of a lie in his voice.

            This was the scene Harry walked in on.  He knew that they were both Slytherins, but it never occurred to him that Draco Malfoy, his nemesis, and Kylie were friends.  

            "Hi Harry," Kylie said, not even looking at him, but seeing him out of the corner of her eye.

            Malfoy jumped very slightly.  "Hello _Potter_," he said, smirking.  "I'll just be going now," he said to Kylie and left, his cloak swishing behind him.

            "What's up?" Kylie asked him.

            "Did you get it?" Harry said.

            Kylie nodded.  "This morning.  It was just there.  Pansy Parkinson tried to read it," she said, a look of disgust on her face.

            "Did she?" Harry asked.

            "No, it's actually funny, what happened.   She was trying to lean over me, while I was sleeping, to take it off my bed table.  She fell on top of me, and it hurt.  Her excuse was that she was trying to put a glass of water on the table.  There was no water, and I hate water anyway.  But all the Slytherin girls saw, so it was a pointless lie," Kylie said, Harry noticed that her eyes sparkled at this.

            "Ron and Hermione won't tell me what happened last night, do you know?" Harry asked her, finally getting around to what he had been trying to find out for a long time.

            "Yeah, it took me an hour to get the whole story, though, " Kylie said.

            "Who'd you here it from?" Harry asked; it seemed no one wanted to talk much about it.

            "Draco, but it took blackmail.  I said that if he didn't tell me, I'd mess up his hair," Kylie said.

            "Mess up his hair?" Harry said.  He knew that Draco Malfoy had interesting, and usually bad, excuses for doing all the stuff he did {Or _not_ doing things}, but messing up his hair to get him to say something?  That was just shallow.

            "Yeah, well, he's not exactly the deepest person in the world.  If I'd said I'd tell everyone he's deepest, darkest secret, he wouldn't care.  But when I threatened with his hair, that just got him to cough it up, he didn't hesitate," Kylie said, smiling slightly.  "But then again, his deepest, darkest, secret isn't all that deep and dark.  It's kind of, shallow and light," she explained.  

            "Oh.  So what happened?" Harry asked.

            "Apparently, well it starts with what I saw, which was eight people in a circle with a purple cloud over them.  I got kidnapped after that part.  He said that after that, they said some sort of incantation; he couldn't remember it.  He said it sounded Latin, or something.  Everyone went completely silent, no one moved, and they kept saying the same thing, over and over.  They got louder, until they were shouting.  Were you there for this part?" Kylie asked.

            "Yeah, I was taken just about then,' Harry said, straining to remember.

            "Okay, so anyway.  I guess the whole student body, and the teachers and staff and them, were put into some sort of trance.  They were, like, hypnotized, only, not.  Man, this is hard to explain.  Draco said you kind of had to be there to get the effect, but I'm trying.  Okay, so… Yeah.  They were put in a trance-like thing, like they were under a spell.  That's it! They were under a spell…" Kylie said.  It was almost funny to hear her tell the story; she kept forgetting and then remembering things.

            "So when they were under a spell, they were told all this stuff.  No one seems to be able to remember what they were told, which is probably a good thing, because I wouldn't be able to remember that to tell you, but they had to repeat things.  They had to repeat phrases to a spell, I think.  After that, one of the people in the circle, a girl, said to everyone, 'Darkness rises over Hogwarts tonight.'  The, the purple cloud, which, by the way, no one knows the purpose of, exploded.  The eight people disappeared, it seemed like they were apparating, I've been told.  Only, you can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds, so that could not have been it.  Then the light s went back on, and it was silent for a few seconds.  Then, everyone starting talking at once, and everyone ran for the doors, it was chaos," Kylie finished.

            "And Malfoy remembered _all_ of this?" Harry said, it seemed kind of suspicious.

            " Yes, _Draco_ remembered all of it.  It seemed very traumatizing, I don't think it would be forgotten easily," Kylie said, putting extra emphasis on Draco's name.

            "Well, yeah, but still…" Harry said.

            "Harry, I know that you and Draco aren't exactly friends, and if he told this to you I can see why you'd think he was lying.  But he told it to me, and he's never lied to me before, and I don't think he would.  And I know he can be awful, but he isn't always, you've just never seen him like that," Kylie said.

            "Well, maybe," Harry said.  Kylie raised an eyebrow at him.

            "Okay, okay, maybe he's not too bad sometimes.  Like when he's around Slytherins," Harry said.

            "I've tried convincing him that you aren't too bad either, but he's easier to convince than you.  If you'll believe that," Kylie said.

            "I find that very hard to believe," Harry said.

            "Yes, well, next time I'll have to just make you guys shake hands, or truce, or something.  And neither of you will be happy about that," Kylie said.

            "You got that right.  I have to go back to the common room, I'll see you around," Harry said.

            "Later," Kylie said, and waved.

            As Harry walked back to the common room, he ran into Raymond Cruz.

            "Hey, "Harry said.

            "What's up?" Ray said.

            "Did you get your scroll?" Harry asked.

            "Yeah, but it burst into flame a few seconds too early.  All I didn't get to read was Mundungus Fletcher's name, though," Ray said.

            "Kylie almost lost hers, Pansy Parkinson tried to steal it from her," Harry explained.

            "Really? Ellie's was stolen, and by her best friend.  But luckily, it burst into flame in her friend's hand before she could read it, so it's still a secret.  I had to let Ellie see mine, though," Ray explained.

            "It's weird, everyone's acting like they've never seen a scroll before," Harry said.

            "I know, I just don't get it.  You hear what happened last night?" Ray asked.

            "Yeah, just now from Kylie.  Did you hear?" Harry asked.

            "Yeah, from Ellie," Ray answered.

            "Does she like people to call her Ellie, then?" Harry asked, wondering what to call her next time he saw her.

            "Yeah, and you can call me Ray.  You like just Harry then, right?" Ray asked.

            Harry nodded.

            "Alright, I have to go finish a potions essay, blasted Snape had to make it four pieces of parchment long,' said Ray, scowling.

            "Bye," Harry said.  

            Ray waved, and Harry continued to his common room.  At least he wasn't alone doing this, like he had been other times when he had to fight Voldemort.  Voldemort had always been Harry's major threat, but Terces superceded him.  Who knew how powerful these people could be.  Who wanted to know, was the better question.

            Harry couldn't help but wonder how it was that four teenagers, without adult wizard licenses, could somehow get four huge powers to obey them.  Maybe Mundungus Fletcher knew.  He seemed to know a lot about Terces.

            How was that?  What connection did Mundungus have with Terces?  It appeared that perhaps Mundungus had been on 'their' side once, and so he had this inside information.  How else could he know about Terces?  As a secret society, wouldn't no one know about them, because they were, plainly speaking, _secret_?

            Yes, there certainly was a lot to learn about Mundungus Fletcher.  Harry, out of all the students defending Hogwarts, needed to know the most.  Sure, he wondered about his connection with Terces, but he also wanted to know about his mother.  If Mundungus Fletcher played Chinese checkers with his mother, he must know a lot about her.  Harry surmised this based on something Ron had once said about chess matches: "You learn more about the person your playing than you do about the game itself."  

            Harry was at the portrait hole now.  "Hippogriff," he said to the Fat lady.

            "Wouldn't accept anything else," she chirped cheerfully as she swung open. 

            In the common room, Ron was playing chess against himself, and Hermione was reading The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5.  

            "Hey guys," Harry said.  "Who's winning," he asked Ron.

            "Hi Harry," Hermione said.

            "Hey.  I'm winning, by the way.  It's no use playing against myself.  I already know all my tricks!" Ron announced loudly.  "Oh, there's a package on your bed, Harry, by the way," Ron said.

            "Okay, thanks," Harry said and walked up the stairs to the boys dorms.

            There was indeed a package on Harry's bed.  It was oddly shaped, and Harry guessed that there were several objects in it.

            It did not say who it was from.  Harry opened it anyway, though, he already guessed what was in it.

He was right.

            "It's your turn," Harry read off a small parchment that was inside the package.  

            Inside the package were two strange looking things.  They were identical in shape and size, but they were different colors, and had different designs.  "Wizard dice," Harry said to himself.  He could expect no less from the Crevi Game.

            He remembered Ron telling him about these.  In wizard board games, there were two dice that looked very different than Muggle dice.  They were shaped as stars, about five inches in diameter {though it was hard to tell, being star-shaped}.  On each smooth part of the first die, which was silver, there was a moving picture.  The pictures showed people walking forward, people walking backward, people giving things to each other, and people sword fighting.  There were other pictures as well, but the weirdest was of a wolf.  

Harry hoped that didn't mean what he thought it meant.

            The other die was gold.  It had a number on each smooth part.  Harry noticed that the number range went one through fourteen, and each number appeared twice.  Harry supposed that you would have to do whatever the picture you rolled showed as many times as the number you rolled.  He wasn't sure though.

            Harry took a deep breath, checked to make sure that no one was around him, then rolled both dice on the floor.  The silver star spun on one of its points for a few seconds before Harry saw that a picture of someone walking forward was glowing.  How the die knew which picture Harry rolled, he'd never know, because technically there were four smooth parts facing up, but this particular one was glowing.

            The second die rolled behind Harry's bed, where he saw the number eight glowing.  A piece of parchment suddenly appeared in front of Harry bearing a message.  Harry read it:

You move forward eight spaces.  The space you land on says:

" Great tasks lay ahead, while your heart stays behind.  Change this before you separate your body and your mind."

You are the fifth person to take your turn.  

Out of eight players, eight remain.

~Game Host~

            Oh joy.  Harry looked to find the dice, but they had disappeared.  This was probably a good thing, because who knows what would have happened if one of the other boys had found the dice.  

            The message on the space Harry landed on sounded familiar.  It was almost like P.1 Rebirth's letters.  

            _Oh yeah,_ Harry remembered, _I think I read this on one of those papers in a fortune cookie once._  The only difference was that it rhymed.  This, Harry decided was the strangest thing.  But the Crevi Game itself was worth about twenty good minutes of wondering _'Why?'_

*          *            *            *

            "I think we did pretty good," Enna announced to the other Terces sodalises.

            "You should all be proud," Sammen said.

            "It's only been two months into the school year, and you've all progressed so much," Reelle said.

            "You did all right your first time," Plikttro said.  Enna, Reelle, and Sammen glared at him.  "Okay, okay, you did well," he said.

            "Thank you," Brann said, trying to sound modest.

            "I thought we'd mess it up," Ren said, only she was really modest.

            "I thought we could have been better, but we weren't bad," said Strella, thought she was hiding a smile.

            "I'm just happy I didn't get hurt," said Skully gratefully.

            Yes, it was yet another Terces meeting; November the first.  

            "Well, we won't really be making plans, but I think that one of our next targets should be a Quidditch match," Enna said.  Strella and Brann gave her suspicious looks.

            "Oh _really_? I'm on a Quidditch team, you know, for the house I'm acting like I'm in," Brann said.

            "Yeah, me too," said Strella.

            "I know, of course, but it could be for other houses," Enna explained.

            "Hey!" Ren said.  "Now you just wait a minute!"

            "I take that as a personal insult," Skully said, finally getting up the nerve to say something.

            "Don't take it personally, after all, it's against the other houses, not Terces.  We have our own house.  And if our house ever does get discovered, which it _better_ not, for the good of all of you, we can form a Quidditch team,' Sammen said quickly.

            "Really?" Brann said.

            "But- we don't plan on being discovered until we are sure- as in absolutely certain, with no doubts whatsoever- that our Evil has risen to full power and can never fall," Reelle said.

            "Yeah, we don't want to repeat what happened last time," Plikttro said.

            "Let's hope not!" Enna said.

            "What happened?" asked Ren who was eagerly listening.

            "We were almost discovered.  Some stupid first year Gryffindor was spying on me, to see where I disappeared to every time the moon changed.  He followed me here, but luckily Plikttro saw him, and he was properly taken care of," Enna said.

            "Wha-what did you do to him?" Skully asked, not sure he wanted to know.

            "Oh, we used a very strong memory charm. He just saw the hidden door, nothing else, so it didn't take any harsher remedy to get it out of his head.  It doesn't matter now, he has to be dead, that being ten thousand years ago," Enna continued.

            "I still don't completely get how all of you are still here…" asked Strella.

            "We haven't been here for the past thousand years, waiting for all of you to arrive.  We are simply, well, it isn't so simple, actually, but we're a type of ghost that can return to its initial form when it chooses to.  There are, however, time limits.  You can only be in the wizard world for so much time before you have to go back to the other side," Reelle explained.

            "The other side? I don't think this is the best time to be discussing this… we're all really tired, so we'll probably just ask you again anyway," Ren said.

            "We understand," Enna said, smiling slightly.

            "However, please strain your minds to listen to what we have to discuss next-our plans for the year's first Quidditch match…"

*          *            *            *

            Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. 

            Time is being quickly used.  But that was okay.  The sweet sound of the clock.  Ah, the sweet sound.  Mundungus Fletcher savored every second.  It was only a matter of time before Terces discovered who the Fifth Power's successors were.

            He wasn't leading them into a battle where they'd necessarily lose.  But the odds were not in their favor, nor Terces favor.  There were no odds, because not enough people ever knew about Terces to care.

            But it was fact that people did care now.  They did not know about Terces, so to speak, but they knew that there was something out there, in Hogwarts, that was plotting against them.  Dumbledore knew.  Of course, Dumbledore had suspected something all along.  Ever since that fateful day that the first new Terces sodalis had walked into the Great Hall to be sorted.  

            Mundungus Fletcher was a strange man in many ways.  He was often confused with the man from the game _Monopoly_, only by muggles, of course, but a few witches and wizards made the same connection between the two.   But no one had realized that the man on the cover of the _Monopoly_ box was him.  Or, been inspired by his appearance, rather.  But Mundungus Fletcher preferred to say that the more obvious connection between the two was their love of games.  

            Mundungus loved games.  He was a true Chinese checker champ in his day, except for the great Lily Potter.  She was by far the most talented of all Chinese checkers players.  Never lost a game, that girl.

            But she was dead now.  He was sure that Harry would ask him questions about her, and Mundungus would have to answer him.  Every kid has a right to know things about their mother, about their parents, actually.  And Mundungus didn't know a live person who knew Lily Potter better than he did, and he was fairly certain that Harry thought this, too.  Yes, Mundungus would have to tell Harry everything he wanted to know about his mother's past.

But there were parts to Lily's past that were perhaps best kept secret.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Go me! Another chapter! Okay, since it's Sunday night, I may not be able to get another chapter up for a couple of days, as I'm a busy seventh grader at the busiest part of the school year.  So I'm sorry in advance if another chapter doesn't go up in a few days, let's say by Friday.  

Words of Wisdom: Fantasy and Reality defy each other.  Yet, to live in a world of such ceaseless debate, you need equal amounts of each to stay above the surface.

*looks proud of self* I made up that quote.

Okay, you rolled the wizard's dice.  The silver die shows someone reviewing! Is that someone you? Hint: Yes!  The gold die shows the number, wait, it shows infinity! I guess that means that you should review my story infinite times or else you may lose your next turn!

Thanx for all the reviews, guys!

I love you all {So, so, so, so, so, much! *Blows kisses to reviewers*}

Ciao!

~Starry


	19. Flashback: The Story Behind Children of ...

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: Need I say it? Really, just assume that you know what would be said in one of my disclaimers.  

Author's Note: Hello, all! My computer is royally screwed.  Let's just cross out fingers {but not right now, I'm typing…}, and hope for the best…  This chapter is a flash back. Yes, the whole chapter is one, long flashback.  But it's important to the plot!

Thanx for the reviews! I'm up to 95! 

Let's go!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Eighteen**

            _~Flashback~ Takes place in the field near the Hogwarts courtyard_

            A teenage girl thought carefully while examining the Chinese Checker board.  She was near losing the game.  She had never lost before, and she did not intend to break that title.

            "Won't you just move, Lily? So what if you lose one game. It's not like it's a championship," the girl's opponent said.

            "It may not be a championship, but I have a record to uphold!" Lily Evans protested.

            "Yes, but it's deathly hot outside in the sun, can't we just move the board to the shade, at the very least?" her opponent said.

            "And have you tamper with my pieces? I don't think so, Fletcher, I'm smarter than that," Lily said.

            "Why would I do that?" Fletcher said.

            "Because if you said that you beat Lily Evans in a game, you would brag about it to everyone, especially to James!" Lily said matter-of-factly.

            "Aw, come on, why would I do that to my favorite Chinese checkers partner?  If it's so important to you, I wouldn't tell James Potter, because everyone already knows you're madly in love with him," Fletcher said.

            "I am not madly in love with him! Mundungus Alan Fletcher, don't you make me come over to your side of the board and concede for you!" Lily said threateningly.

            "Fine, I won't.  I concede," he said.

            "Okay, I win!" Lily said happily.

            "Can we go inside the castle now? That new magic cooling charm works wonders, and it's sweltering outside!" Mundungus said.

            "Fine.  I'll clean up the board," Lily said.

            "See you in a little!" he said as he walked away towards his and Lily's friends, James Potter and Natasha Willock.

            Suddenly, something clicked inside Lily's head.  "Hey, Mundungus, get over here!"

            Mundungus, Natasha and James walked over to Lily.

            "I just realized something.  You can't concede, it isn't you turn," Lily said.

            "Oh my goodness, Lily, you still won! You always win.  I mean, seriously, have you ever lost a game?" Mundungus asked her.

            "No! And I never intend to!" Lily defended.

            "Oh, of course not.  The great Lily Evans wins every single game she's challenged to," Natasha said sarcastically, in a joking sort of way.

            "Oh, shove it, Tasha," Lily said.

            "Oh, Potter by the way," Mundungus started, turning to face his friend.  "Lily is madly in love with you."

            "I am not!" Lily screamed jumping on Mundungus.

            James's face was slightly pink, but he kept his cool about the situation.

            "Just leave her alone, Fletcher," James said.

            "Oh, sticking up for your girlfriend?" Mundungus asked.  By now all four were laughing over his pathetic fight against Lily.

            James was just about to jump him when the sky suddenly turned an eerie indigo black.  Clouds stormed in quickly, and thunder rumbled in the distance.  Lily and Natasha shrieked, replacing their former laughter.  The four ran towards a giant tree as a bolt of lightening cut through the ebony sky.  

            The four huddle together under a willow.  

            "We can't get to the castle, if we run the lightening will electrocute us!" said Natasha.

            "The storm should blow over soon," Mundungus said.  

            Lily whimpered.  She was terrified.  James wasn't sure it would blow over that quickly.

            "What the-'' James started to say, as blue sparks shot out from the distance.

            The sparks burst into brilliant, luminous swirls in the sky.

            "Fireworks," Lily whispered.

            Then, one of the sparks hit the ground and the earth sunk into the ground.

            Natasha screamed bloody murder.  Although, no one could hear it over the thunder.

            More sparks came shooting towards the ground, and more earth kept sinking, until the students were on one circle of ground surrounding by a canyon.

            A shrill, high-pitched voice laughed penetratingly into the storm, and a final spark hit the ground, causing Natasha to fall over the edge.

            If it wasn't for Mundungus, who had been holding her hand through the whole event, she would have died.  But Mundungus managed to pull her back over the side.

            _"Ceaso Existicioso!"_ boomed a voice from the side of the field where the four were.  

            This enchantment, whoever had said it, it caused the sky to go into a cloudless, pale blue color.  The sunken pieces of earth slowly rose to fit back where they initially were perfectly.  The wind stopped abruptly.

            "Wow," Lily said out loud, right before she fainted onto the ground.

_Four days later, Hospital Wing_

            "How did I get here?" Lily said.

            "Oh dear, you've finally waken!"  the school nurse said excitedly as she scurried over to Lily's bedside.

            "You've been through quite a trauma.  Professor Dumbledore will explain things to the four of you shortly," the nurse explained.  'Oh, and dear, here's a cup of tea, my special recipe."

            Lily smiled weakly and accepted the steaming teacup.

            "Hey Lil," said a feeble voice from the next bed over.

            "Hi James.  How long have you been awake?" she asked, surprised to see him looking so frail.

            "We've all been awake much longer than you Lily," Mundungus said, sitting up so that Lily could see him in the bed across from James.

            "Hello to you too, Mundungus.  Hi Tasha," she said to the two lying in the other beds.

            "Hi Lily! The others are really weak, but I'm actually very awake and hyper!" Natasha said.

            "She had a few cups too much tea," James explained to Lily in a quiet voice.

            "Ah, I see," Lily said, smiling.

            "Hello Lily, James, Mundungus, and Natasha," said a quiet voice from the doorway.

            The four students looked over to see a smiling Professor Dumbledore.  

            "I expect that you all would like an explanation for what happened?" Dumbledore asked them.  They nodded their heads vigorously.

            "I regret to say that I cannot tell you how it happened.  I will tell you why it happened, who is responsible, and some other things that you would like to know," Dumbledore said.  He then began to speak.

            "I think that you all know who is responsible, none other than Hogwarts' own Tom Riddle.  Yes, Voldemort seems to be holding something against this school since he graduated.  Though its true Durmstrang would have better suited him, he would not be as powerful as he is if he did not go to Hogwarts.

            "As you all know, Voldemort is a very dangerous wizard.  He is incredibly brilliant, and unfortunately, he uses his brilliance against the world he was born to.  His parents went to this school, many years ago, and he holds such a hatred for them that he automatically dislikes anything that has to do with them.  Hogwarts is included in this.

            "Voldemort thinks that the wizarding world will be better off without muggle-borns, and he's attempted several times to rid Hogwarts of them.  He has never fully succeeded.  Lily, you are a muggle born, and Mundungus, you have personal reasons for him to dislike you.  That brings two of you reasons to be disliked by Voldemort.  And James and Natasha, you two are most likely disliked because you associate with them.  Voldemort is trying to scare muggle-borns out of Hogwarts, once and for all.  You just happened to be the students he used to show exactly how strongly he felt about it.

            "I was the one who shouted the counter curse.  I sensed that something was wrong.  Tom Riddle and I, we have connections you see.  I walked outside onto the school balcony and saw what was happening.  The other students were pressing their faces against the windows, panicking.  The rest of the staff was trying to think of what to do.  

            "I was also in a state of panic.  Then I remembered a little counter curse an old friend taught me.  The charm, you see, causes everything to go back to the way it was before the original curse was used.  It was the perfect counter curse for the time.

            That is all that I can tell you, for now.  I will, however, tell you more details later.  The school has had a memory charm put on, so no students will be pressing you for details."

            "Wow," Lily said, feeling kind of dizzy after taking the load of information.

            "I never thought that any sort of thing like this would happen to me…" James started.

            "I'll never be able to feel completely safe at Hogwarts again!" Natasha said.

            "Well, that's the sort of thing that would not be expected to occur on a sunny day," Mundungus surmised.  The other three shot him strange looks.

            "It's true! That day was particularly sunny!" Mundungus defended.

            "I must return to my office now.  You all may stay here for a few more hours, but then I insist that you return to your dorms and try to continue your lives.  

It will not be easy to get over this, but you must try.  It will not be the worst we see from Voldemort.  You for have experienced something that few in the future will ever hear one sentence about," Dumbledore said.  His eyes held that all too familiar twinkle that always meant he knew something the rest of the world didn't.

            He turned and left the room, his violet cloak swishing behind him. 

            "Get over it? That will never happen!" Natasha said, groaning.

            "You can try.  Think about it, you'll be prepared if it ever happens again.  Not like I think it will, but with You-Know-Who around, you can just never be too sure," Lily said.

            "Plus, it will make one heck of a story to tell your kids someday," Mundungus said.

            "Yeah, there is nothing a kid loves more than a juicy, deep, dark secret," James said, very confident in his answer.

            "Yes, and everyone has a few deep, dark secrets.  Such as, maybe, who they're madly in love with…Right Lily?" Mundungus said, smiling slyly.

            Lily's reply was throwing a pillow across the room and hitting him in the face.

            "What on earth are you lot doing? If you're feeling that healthy, you must be healthy enough to return to your dorms," the nurse said as she strode into the room.

            With a blushing face, Lily got up, closed the curtains around her bed, got dressed, and left the hospital wing with the others.

            "Great one, Lily, just get us kicked out of the wing, why don't you!" Mundungus said jokingly.

            "Oh, why don't you go choke on a chess piece!" Lily said.  

            "Not a bad idea.  Hey, Potter, want to play a game of chess?" Mundungus asked.

            "I don't know.  I'm kind of, well, I lack any sort of feeble talent whatsoever in playing chess.  It's so bad, it'll probably be passed on to generations," James said.

            Lily sighed.  Mundungus saw her roll her eyes.

            "Well, you've got to be better than me.  I can play Chinese checkers, but I'm a failure at chess," Lily said.

            "Oh, so, do you want to play then? I might finally beat you at something…" Mundungus said.

            Lily grinned.  "Mundungus, you're my favorite Chinese checkers partner, and you lose wonderfully, but you're just too good at chess for me.  You'd win before the game started! Unless I conceded," Lily said.

            "Well then, lets play!" Mundungus said.

            Lily tilted her head and looked thoughtful for a moment.  Then she grinned.  

"You're on!"

_~End of Flashback~_

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  Well, that chapter was refreshing.  I love writing about Harry and his crew, really I do, but this was a nice little change.  I'm not sure if there will be any more flashbacks.  You may be wondering what the heck the flashback has to do with Terces, but it was a memory of Mundungus Fletcher, so, yeah.  It'll all make sense in the end! I swear! I know exactly how this story is going to end; I even know the last paragraph! Believe me, the ending's going to be awesome!

Words of Wisdom: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

~"Closing Time"

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao! {Yes, I know that Ciao actually means hello, but that's just a small obstacle in my road of joy and happiness! In other words, I just don't care.  Don't tell the Italians I said that.}

~Starry


	20. Quidditch and Then Some

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or anything that appears familiar to you from the Harry Potter books.  I own the Plot, Kylie, a few other characters, Terces, and some other minor things.

Author's Note: Didn't I say that you would all be wondering what the flashback chapter had anything to do with the plot! I so said that!  Yes, Violet eyes, all things will be explained.  Not necessarily in this chapter, but I promise it will make sense in the end.  If you want to get an idea of how confusing it might be, try reading Philosolyphe, some story by Pendragon on fictionpress.net.  It's really cool, and I hope my fic will make you think just as much.  Pendragon is one of my old friends, by the way.

So read Pendragon's story.  Go ahead, I dare you!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Nineteen**

            Harry woke up on November the fourth by the Weasley twins yelling in his face.

            "Really, Harry, could you sleep any sounder? First Quidditch practice is today! Surprise!" Fred said.

            "What, it is?" Harry asked, feeling around for his glasses.

            "Yes, we though it would be best to start training a few days before tryouts.  We need a new keeper, you know," George informed him.

            "Okay, so who's the captain?" Harry asked.

            "We are!" the twins said in unison.

            "Oliver couldn't decide between us, so we're co-captains," George said.

            "Yes, he actually trusted us with the team!" Fred said happily.  

            Harry could only guess what was going on in the twins' minds. 

            "Can you be at the pitch in a half an hour?" Fred asked Harry.

            "Yeah, sure," Harry answered, through a yawn.

            The twins left the dorm, and Harry struggled to get out of bed.  He got dressed and searched his trunk for his Firebolt broomstick.  Once he found it, he walked into the common room.

            "Hey Harry," Ron said.

            "Hi Harry!" Hermione greeted him.

            Harry waved meekly.  It killed him to know that he had to hide so much from his two best friends.  There was no way they could ever be told about Terces.  Harry sighed.  No matter what happened in his life, he would always have some huge secret that, for some reason, no one could find out about.  

            Harry walked down to the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione.  Even if he couldn't tell them about Terces, it felt good to not have to think about it until November the sixteenth.

            He watched the owls fly in to deliver the daily mail.  He hadn't been expecting anything, but Hedwig flew in and dropped a letter in front of him.

            He opened it slowly, careful not to rip it.

            It was unbelievable.  He'd said it was the last time, hadn't he? P.1 Rebirth had said that he would never contact Harry again.  

            Harry stuffed the letter in his robes to read later.  

            "What'd you get, Harry?" Hermione asked good-naturedly.

            "Nothing important, just some letter.  Wrong address kind of thing.  I don't know how Hedwig got hold of it," Harry said quickly.

            Hermione's smile faltered a little.  "Okay," she said.

*          *            *            *

            Harry woke up a little more as he walked onto the Quidditch pitch.  He was expecting to see the all-too familiar stands decorated in house colors, the lush green grass, the hoops on the ends of the pitch that gleamed in the morning sun.  

It was nothing of the sort.

            The pitch looked as if it had been torn apart.  The stands were just wooden beams, no house decorations, and several of them had fallen down.  The grass had been dug into, so there was dirt and mud.  The hoops were lying on the ground.

            Harry looked at one end of the pitch to see the Gryffindor team standing there.  He walked over to them.

            "What's going on?" he asked them.

            "No idea.  It wasn't like this last night, when Fred and I came down to look at it," George said.

            "How could it have been ruined so quickly?" Angelina Johnson asked quietly.

            "How could it have been ruined?" Alicia Spinnet asked.

            "What would Oliver say?" Katie Bell asked, causing the team to pause and ponder the thought.

            "I bet he'd cry," Fred said.

            "Probably," Harry agreed.  Oliver Wood, the former Gryffindor captain, had practically worshipped the game.

            "What do we do now?" Katie asked.

            Harry thought about this.  His mind came to Terces.  Then he spoke up.

            "We go to Dumbledore."

*          *            *            *

            "This is very strange indeed," Dumbledore said, looking out at the pitch through his office window.  He appeared to be deep in thought.

            "Who would have done this sort of thing?" Fred asked.

            "Who indeed?" Dumbledore murmured.

            "Don't you have any idea of who it could have been?" Harry asked.

            Dumbledore sensed something in Harry's voice; he knew Harry wasn't telling him something.

            "No.  Do you?" Dumbledore asked the team.  They shook their heads no.

            "What are we going to do?" Angelina asked.

            "Well, there is of course a spell we can use.  It varies in time to complete the process, depending on the damage.  The Quidditch pitch seems to be severely damaged.  It will take at least a month to take care of," Dumbledore said.

            "What? But, Professor, the first match, practice, what about that?" George said.

            "Of, don't worry about that.  There is another pitch, but it is farther away.  It is still on the Hogwarts grounds, but it is on the mountain.  We'll have to use magic to get anyone there," Dumbledore explained.

            Harry never knew that Hogwarts grounds went far enough to have a mountain on them.  He learned something new every day. 

            "Where is it?" Alicia asked curiously.

            "It is on Mount Maldade, one of the Mountains of Macabre.  They are mountains that do not appear to muggles, so we won't have to worry about that," Dumbledore said.

            Albus Dumbledore tapped his finger to his chin while thinking.  "Yes, I suppose that is best.  I will contact the staff and other team members, as well as make an announcement at dinner tonight," he said.

            "You all may go now, except Harry," he said.

            The others left Harry and Dumbledore in the office.

            "Harry, I have asked you this before.  Is there anything you would like to tell me?" Dumbledore asked concernedly. 

            "I will not make you say anything, but there is one thing I'd like you to remember.  Last year I asked you this same question, and you said that you had nothing to say.  Now, do you still have nothing to say?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

            Harry thought about this.  He almost told Dumbledore everything, all about Terces, the letters, the cloud, how he has to beat Hogwarts' resident evil, and everything that goes with it.  But then he remembered some things.

Terces would find out if Dumbledore knew.

Dumbledore would find out…_eventually_.

Finally, Mundungus Fletcher was an Unspeakable, so no one should know what it is he does.

            "No, nothing.  I'm just sad about the Quidditch pitch, that's all," Harry lied.

Dumbledore knew that he was lying, but he pressed no further questions.

            "All right, you may go," Dumbledore said; and Harry left.

            Once Harry had gone, Albus Dumbledore got up from his chair, walked across the room, and began looking at a bookcase.  The man looked for a few minutes before pulling out a book and opening it up to a page in the middle.  Though the book was old and dusty, the print stating the name of its previous owner was still visible on the first page.

*          *            *            *

            "Oh where, oh where has my favorite book gone? Oh where, oh where could it be?" Kylie sang while she was searching through her trunk.  

            "Could you yell any louder?" said a familiar drawling voice from the doorway.

            "Hi Draco," said Kylie without turning.  "It isn't yelling, it's singing."

            "It doesn't sound that way.  What book is it?" Draco asked.

            "I can't tell you that," Kylie said, throwing several things outside of the trunk.

            "How do you expect me to help look for it if you don't tell me what it is?" Draco asked, thoroughly confused.

            "Maybe because I didn't really expect you to help, since you don't usually help people, so I thought that there was simply no point in telling you the title," Kylie said smiling.

            "What makes you so sure I don't help people? What did you say the title was?" Draco asked starting to go through a huge pile of books in a corner of the dorm.

            "Did you really think that would work?" Kylie asked looking at him suspiciously.

            "What would work?" Draco asked, trying very hard to appear completely innocent.

            "I know that tone, Draco Malfoy! You thought that by asking me what I had said that I would say the title of the book, even though I never said it in the first place!" Kylie said, almost glaring at him.

            "That makes absolute nonsense, try speaking English.  And, I would do nothing of the sort," Draco said.

            "I do speak English, and it makes sense in my mind.  And, if you didn't know what I meant, how did you think you were innocent?" Kylie challenged.

            "Because I figured that whatever you thought I did I didn't do, and just went along with it,' Draco shrugged, pulling some books out of Kylie's trunk.  He held up one, "Is this it?"

            "You're an annoyingly clever man, Draco Malfoy.  And no, the book I'm looking for is old," Kylie said.

            "Why can't I just know the title?" he asked.

            "Because."

            "Because why?"

            "Just because."

            "But why?"

            "Because it's illegal to have a copy.  Not like you've never done anything illegal," Kylie said.

            "Okay, so I've broken a few laws here and there.  I won't tell anyone that you're not supposed to have it, if that's what you think," Draco said.

            "A few laws? I know you won't tell anyone if I have it.  But do you know that not telling anyone includes your father?" Kylie asked.

            "Why would I tell him?" Draco asked.

            "You wouldn't, intentionally.  But he would know that you were keeping something from him, then he'd make you tell him," Kylie said matter-of-factly.

            "He might, but that doesn't mean anything.  I could lie," Draco reasoned.

            "He'd know, and he'd keep asking you to tell him," Kylie said.

            "Well, I wouldn't,' Draco said.

            "And he wouldn't get the least bit mad?" Kylie asked.

            "It isn't like he's never not mad.  He's a stressed businessman, that's all.  He's very busy, he has an important job; people need him all the time.  He's going to be stressed," Draco defended weakly.

            "Draco, I don't care how important your father is, but if he gets as bad as you've said…" Kylie started, but trailed off knowing that Draco might take it the wrong way.

            "Maybe I've exaggerated a little, so what?  It isn't like I can't help it sometimes, you can't know what it's like being judged by what your parents do," Draco said.

            "No, I don't know what it's like.  But at least you know your father. Mine's, well, I don't know where he is, actually.  I only know his name.  He left a while ago, when I was one year old.  He got into some trouble with the ministry and ran for it," Kylie said quickly, then regretting she said half of it.  Draco softened a little {which does not happen very often}.

            "You don't remember him at all?" Draco asked.

            "I have zero memories," Kylie said.  

            Draco thought for a few seconds.  "Does your mom ever tell you stuff about him?" he asked.

            "She used to," Kylie said.  Her eyes were watering slightly.

            "And, what, one day she just stopped?" Draco asked curiously.

            "Well, it's not like she can tell me anything now," Kylie said.

            "Why?"

            "She can't.  I mean, well, she's dead.  My mother's dead, my father's gone, my godparents are dead, I have no family left," Kylie said.  "I have to go," she said and walked away.

            Draco Malfoy was a highly strange boy.  His father was one of Voldemort's highest supporters, his mother agreed with his father, and Draco was expected to be the same.  He did have the Malfoy temper, the Malfoy appearance, and that drawl to his voice.

            But he really wasn't like his father at all.  He had a short temper, but that was basically all that he got from his father's side.  He had an ability to snap some cruel remark off his tongue in the tightest of times, and it got him in trouble more often then not.  He meant to treat people in such bad ways sometimes, but only when they really deserved it.  All the other times it was purely instinct; he'd been brought up that way.

            Disagreeing with his father was a definite restriction.  He had to go by whatever his father said.  From appearance to personality, Lucius Malfoy tried to make Draco his carbon copy.  Draco was expected to act sinister and evil.  It was in his blood.

            Draco thought to himself a final thing before leaving the Slytherin dungeon.

            _Father may think I can't be evil, but he doesn't even know what I'm up to this time._

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  I'm not really making Draco OCC; I'm just expanding on what we all already know about him in an off-character way.  I am pleased to announce that I now know exactly where this story is going! I have the months {of Harry's school year} planned out for April through June.  Once this story gets to April {in the Hogwarts school year}, there will be a huge major thing happening.  Watch out!

Words of Wisdom:  Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

Please Review! It's only fair!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	21. A New Corruption

**The Fifth House**

****

Disclaimer: I think we ALL know what I'm about to type, so I just won't type it because we're all being so psychic today…

Author's Note: It's Spring Break for Starry {and other people, too}! This means, I can update more! I haven't been able to update in a while.  I'm so sorry about that, by the way.  But I'll be home a lot the next week, so I'll be updating a lot more.  Do y'all remember when I updated three days in a row?  That was cool, but I haven't had a lot of time to do that lately.

Read.

Review.

R something….

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty**

****

         _Swish._

         Harry loved the sound of flying broomsticks.  They made such a beautiful sound when they were speeding through the air.

         It was difficult, however, to concentrate on the beauty of Quidditch when he was still trying to get used to the new pitch.  It wasn't new, exactly, but it was new to Harry.

         The pitch was very different from the other one indeed.  It appeared much older than the other.  The stands were carved into sides of something like a canyon, and they were decorated differently.  First of all, the other pitch's stands had fabric with the house colors on the sides.  This pitch's stands were painted with each house's colors.  There were also paintings of each house's mascot on each set of stands.

         The setting of the pitch itself was also different.  The other pitch had been on what Harry had formerly thought to be a vacant field, but turned out to be a cemetery.  It was next to the school, on completely flat ground.

         This field, however, was atop a mountain.  The stands rose high around the pitch, making the actual pitch something like a canyon that just happened to be sitting on a mountain.  This gave the snitch many more places to hide, so it would be harder to catch.  

         The Gryffindor team was scrimmaging the Ravenclaws.  They had never scrimmaged before; this time Dumbledore wanted the teams to get used to the pitch.  After Harry's team's scrimmage, the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs would go up against each other.

         However, tryouts still had not been held, so it was a practice game on difficult terms.  The Ravenclaw team needed a new chaser, the Gryffindor team a new keeper, the Slytherins a new chaser and beater, and the Hufflepuffs a new seeker.  The teams had thought it pointless to play under such conditions, but Dumbledore had insisted on scrimmages before tryouts.  

         It was a hard game.  The Gryffindors had no one to block the goalposts, so everyone had to try to block them.  It seemed that six people who had never been keepers would be able to fill the keeper spot satisfactorily, but none of them would ever be as good as Oliver Wood.

         The Ravenclaws had to make due with just two chasers tossing the quaffle to each other.  The Hufflepuffs had to use one of their chasers as a seeker.  This chaser was reluctant though; it seemed no one wanted the spot of seeker out of respect to their previous one, Cedric Diggory.  The Slytherins possibly had it the worst: they had to use two chasers and only one beater.

         Regardless, the practice games still went smoothly.

Well, as smoothly as anything could get with Terces lurking.

         Harry had thought he saw the snitch go into one of the cracks on the side of the canyon, so he went to find it.  He was amazed to find that he could fit through the crack, and he was perhaps even more amazed at what he found inside it.  

         Inside the crack, there was another set of stands.  It was much, much smaller; maybe fitting only ten people.   Harry was above these stands only a little, because otherwise he would crash into the ceiling.  It was some sort of cave.  These seats were also painted.  They were painted violet and an opaline color, with a painting of a wolf.  

         Harry faced to area that he entered from.  It must have been some kind of magic that made this happen, but you could see through the stone to the pitch.  You could actually watch the game through the canyon walls.

         It was the perfect setup.  No one would know that they were there; whoever sat here could watch the match in secret.

But Harry knew perfectly well who had sat there.

         Harry saw the snitch hiding near one of the cracks along the cave walls, and he flew over and grabbed it.  After taking one last look around the secret stands, he flew out of the cave and back onto the pitch, to end the scrimmage.

It was the perfect setup for what happened next to become the perfect corruption.

*       *       *       *

         Eleanor Branstone walked quickly to her dorm.  She didn't want anyone to here her or know she was there.  

         There had been way too much on her mind lately.  Nothing seemed to make sense anymore: her homework, her friends, her family.

         _Her family._  If anyone ever found out about them, there would be absolutely nothing she could ever do to stop it.  People would know who they had been, and once they found out, Eleanor would never be able to live it down.

         She arrived at the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories.  She'd always thought the entrance was well concealed.  It was a large oriental rug that was black and yellow and hung on the wall.  

         She said the password, and watched the rug slowly pull itself up to reveal a passage.  She pulled the rug back down after she went under it, and then quickly-but quietly-jogged down the hidden hall.  

         She reached the comfortable common room, and then went down a short staircase to a door on her right.  She opened it slowly and walked in.

         She looked through her trunk for a few minutes before finding an old leather book.  She looked around the room quickly before opening to the first page.

         She read quickly over the first few pages.  They showed her family history.  She stopped at one page, which showed a large picture.  The picture was of a rather old-looking woman, wearing a fuchsia shawl and some multi-colored jewels.  The old woman in the picture was sleeping.  Eleanor sighed, and then rubbed her fingers on the name below the picture, which read:

Bellacynthe Branstone

         "Yes, Eleanor?" the old woman said waking up and squinting a little.

         "Hello Grandmother.  I need some advice," Eleanor said.  

         "Tell only as much as you'd like to know," Bellacynthe said.  It was her most famous advice.

         "Of course.  I was wondering what I should do about something.  I'm actually not supposed to tell what it is.  But, it's just, everything is so confusing, and there is way too much.  Bad things have been happening in the school, Grandmother, bad things.  They've happened before, but this time they're so much worse!  I just don't know what to do anymore!" Eleanor said.  If anyone else had heard her saying that, it might not make sense, but Eleanor's family wasn't just anyone else.

         "I understand.  So you want to know what to do about everything?  I know, dear, it's much harder when you have some idea of what will happen.  You cannot tell if it is just your imagination getting to you, or if your powers are telling you.  Our family has had this same hindrance for years.  Remember that you are gifted with your powers, but sometimes they will not seem like a blessing at all.

         "  When it comes to determining whether it's your abilities or your imagination, just follow your eyes.  Listen to your sight, pay attention to your other senses, consider you heart, and let your mind paint a picture of what will happen.  If that doesn't make sense to you when thinking about what's bothering you, it is not your powers telling you this.  If you feel most strongly about it in your heart, you will surely know that it is just your imagination.  Eleanor, Seeing is when your mind, eyes, and other senses tell you what will occur.  If your heart plays a part in it, you are not Seeing anything," Bellacynthe explained.  The old woman then fell back to sleep.

         "Alright then, thank you Grandmother," Eleanor said, even though she knew the old woman would not hear her.

         Bellacynthe Branstone was not the best person to explain anything in explicit detail, or even make any sense about it.  Eleanor didn't like to ask her for advice, but she had seemed the best person to ask at the moment.  

         Basically what Bellacynthe had said was that Seeing is from your mind and senses.  Seeing is not affiliated with your heart, she had said.  If you were to think something would happen, and you felt it most strongly in your heart, it was not Seeing, just you imagination, Bellacynthe had said.  She said that you should consider you heart, but not pay attention to it.

         Eleanor was a Seer-to-be.  Her whole family was Seers.  It was in her blood to know what would happen.

         Just then, Eleanor felt a surge of power go through her body.  She felt it in her mind, her eyes, her ears, her fingers, her face.  Something told her, from her heart and all of these places, that Bellacynthe Branstone was not telling the truth.

*       *       *       *

         It was a few nights later, November the 15th, and Harry was just getting back to his dorm from an 11 o'clock {p.m.} detention with Snape {Harry had accidentally forgotten his potions book on a day that Snape was in a bad mood}.  He got to his dorm, where there was a scroll waiting for him on his bed.

         Knowing what it was, Harry walked into a closet where he opened the scroll, which jumped quickly out of his hands and unrolled by itself to reveal a door.  Harry checked his watch.  It was midnight.  

         It was midnight on the morning of November 16th; it was time for a meeting with Ray Cruz, Eleanor Branstone, Kylie D'Alessandro, and Mundungus Fletcher.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: Yet another chapter in the saga in which we follow Harry and his friends and enemies through a tale of suspense, interest, terror, drama, and cliff-hanger chapter endings has been completed.  Okay, maybe TFH {The Fifth House} isn't that great, but it's pretty okay, right?

People, I have a feeling that this story may not be done before the fifth book comes out.  Please keep reading it even if the Fifth book comes out first, even though this story takes place in Harry's fifth year.  You will keep reading, won't you?

Words of Wisdom:  It's nice to be important, but it's always important to be nice.

~ I forget who said this, but I've heard it so many times.

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	22. Three Offendo, Quad You're Sicco

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I own the plot, a few characters, Terces, basically everything that makes this story different from J.K. Rowling's books, and all that.  But I do not own Harry Potter. 

Author's Note:  I just posted yesterday! Aren't you all so happy? Can I hear the sounds of rejoicing?  Can you all believe that I'm on chapter 22?! Actually, It's chapter 23 if you want to get all technical and stuff, and if you include the prologue as a chapter.  But that's only for people who want to get all technical and stuff.

Read.

Review.

Reupholster! This is an explicit cry for help finding R words!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-One**

            Harry walked through the portal door and into another passage.  There was a door a few paces in front of him.  It was different shades of silver, black, bronze, and gold.  It had the four Hogwarts mascots on it.  Harry turned the knob slowly and walked into the water-wall room.

            Ray and Kylie were already there.  

            "Hey, Harry," said Ray, smiling and waving slightly.

            "Hi," said Kylie, who saluted.  Ray and Harry both looked at her rather strangely for this.

            "What?  I'm in a saluting mood today!" she said.

            "Okay…" said Harry.  It was good that, even when everything seemed to be so bad, there were still friends who could make you laugh.

            "She saluted to me, too," said Ray.

            "And I'm going to keep saluting, to Ellie, and Fletcher…" Kylie went off on a long list of names.  Harry picked up on 'Ron', 'Hermione', and 'Draco'.  

Finally she finished.  "So, how many of those people will give me strange looks?"

            "Probably most of them…" said a voice from the door.

            "Hey, Ellie," Harry said.

            "Hi Ellie!" Kylie said, and saluted.  Ellie saluted back.  Kylie beamed.

            "Hey Ellie," Ray said.

            "Hello, Eleanor," said another voice from the doorway.

             "Hello, Mundungus!" Kylie said, and yes, she saluted. Mundungus also saluted.

            "Hey," Harry said.

            "Hey," said Ray.

            "Hi," said Ellie.

            "I hope you're all ready for another meeting?" Mundungus said.  Four heads nodded.

            "Good.  Has anyone noticed anything strange that they'd like me to explain?"

            "Yeah, well, about the new Quidditch pitch…" Harry started.

            "Ah, yes, the old pitch," Mundungus said.

            "Well, we had a practice game there, and I followed the snitch into a crack, and I found a set of stands with purple and opal coloring, and there was a painting of a wolf," Harry said.  "Terces used those stands, didn't they?"

            "Yes, those must be Terces secret stands.  I've heard that there was a set of stands made especially for Terces to view the games, and it only makes sense that they would be at that pitch.  Let me tell you some things about the old pitch, before I go off in some random direction.

            "That pitch was the original pitch.  It's been around for about a thousand years, it's so old.  It was the very first pitch built for Hogwarts.  Terces, the fundamental group of them, wanted to be able to watch the games with their house. So, they used magic to build stands so that they could watch the games in secret.  If you are in the Terces stands, you can see through the canyon walls and see the game, but people on the pitch cannot see inside the walls to Terces stands.  

            "Once the first Terces sodalis, that's member, had graduated Hogwarts, Terces could not function properly.  The Terces sodalises knew that it would happen.  Terces discovered the power as four, they aimed at eternal Evil as four, and they did everything as four.  They could not go on with only three sodalises.  They had never intended to reach the peak of their Evil success in their first group; they had spent much time planning Terces rebirth.  So, a month before graduation, the four of them had to find some way to keep the school from going to that pitch, in fear that someone might discover it.

            "Those stands are heavily charmed.  You can only find them when there is a complete Terces circle at Hogwarts, which is why Harry found them.  If there is anyone from Terces in there, people who aren't Terces members cannot get in.  When there is not a complete circle, you cannot find them.  I'm not exactly sure what happens so that you can't find them.  Maybe the crack seals, or maybe the stands vanish temporarily.  

            "Anyway, Terces had to find a way to keep the school from returning to that pitch.  The inter-house Cup game hadn't been played yet, and someone could find the stands.  

            "Now, generally, one would think that someone from Terces would just have to be in their stands, and then no one else could get in.  But the night of the Cup, it used to be played at night, there was a full moon.  The shapes of the moon can cause strange things to happen for certain charms.  On this particular moon, people would be able to see through the canyon walls and into Terces stands.  It wouldn't matter if anyone from Terces was there or not.  People would still investigate.  Terces did not want any chance of being discovered.

            "So Terces took action.  They used the same magic to ruin that field that the reborn circle used to ruin the newer field.  The old pitch was repaired, but the new one was much closer, and more convenient to use.  To get to the pitch on Mount Maldade, teachers must use spells to transport the students.  It would be much simpler to apparate, but you cannot apparate on Hogwarts grounds," Mundungus finished his speech.

            "So, why did Terces ruin the pitch this time?" Ray asked.

            "Because they cannot sit together on the new pitch, and it is Hogwarts tradition to watch a match while sitting with members of your house.  Terces may be Evil, but they are not to break tradition," Fletcher explained.

            "Okay, so are you saying that they do all this Evil stuff, like trying to rule the school, but they still do it all traditionally?" Kylie asked as if she was trying to figure something out.

            "Yes," Mundungus said.

            "So, they most likely will not use any strange routes to do this Evil stuff?  Everything they do, we'll have seen the technique before?" Kylie asked.  Harry began wondering where she was going with this.

            "Correct," Mundungus said.

            "So, all we really have to do is think of all of the traditions that happen around here, and then look for Evil stuff that happens in the same ways?" Kylie asked.

            "That's pretty much it," Mundungus said.

            "It seems really easy, just looking for ways that things are different, so… what's the catch?" Kylie asked.

            Mundungus smiled.  "Terces is not a group to come into something with a huge event.  The initial sodalises would come into something silently.  It was strange enough, what happened at the masquerade.  Apparently, the new Terces sodalises like to make a statement.  But, they still keep to their traditions.  That's one catch: Terces keeps to their own traditions as well.  They don't exactly differ from ours, but there are many more," he explained.  

            "I knew it couldn't be that simple," Kylie said.  Harry was slightly surprised to see she was smiling.  It wasn't good news, but maybe she liked the fact that she could tell when there was a hidden catch that people sometimes just 'accidentally' leave out.

            "Who else has questions? Is there anything else strange, you'd like to know about?" Mundungus asked.

            Harry put his hands in the pockets of his robes.  He felt a piece of paper and pulled it out.  

            "What's that?" Ellie asked.

            "I completely forgot that I'd gotten this…" Harry said.

            Mundungus asked to see the letter, and Harry handed it to him.  Mundungus looked at the violet seal and sighed.  That was the first time Mundungus Fletcher actually looked scared.  He handed the letter back to Harry.

            "I suppose you should read it while we're all here.  Oh, and all of you, please bring all of your letters from P whoever Rebirth," Mundungus said.

            Harry slid his finger under the seal and pulled the parchment out.  He read it out loud.  It said:

_Harry,_

_            Nos teneo. Insiders told nos. Nunc, totus vestrum ero evestigatus. Subsisto ex nostrum via, quod nemo gets vulnero. Take is ut a admonitio. Three offendo, quod you're sicco. Is est offendo unus. _

_Sincerely,_

**_P.1 Rebirth_**

            "Actually, I don't know what it means, or if I even pronounced any of it right," Harry said after his struggle to read it.

            "It's Latin, I wouldn't expect you to know it.  Give it to me; I'll translate it for all of you.  But I must say, It means nothing good," Mundungus said, and took the letter from Harry's outstretched hand.

            He cleared his throat and read:

            "We know.  Insiders told us.  Soon, all of you will be discovered.  Stay out of our way, and no one gets hurt.  Take this as a warning.  Three strikes, and you're out.

This is strike one."

            "Oh, no…" Ellie said.

            Ray had his head in his hands.

            Kylie looked crestfallen.

            Harry was in a state of amazement.

            "Listen to me, all of you.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  Terces sodalises will not be able to tell if we do anything unless it's very obvious and visible.  I must say that I, being an Unspeakable, never do anything not in secret.  Nothing in our whole endeavor will be obvious.  If everything goes unbelievable smooth, the school won't even know that our group was fighting against Terces," Mundungus said.

            "Why was it written in Latin?" Ray asked.

            "I think I know," said Kylie.  She went on.  "Latin must be a language that Terces uses a lot.  They must figure that we probably have a fully-fledged wizard working with us, because that is probably the only way to translate it, and then we'll lay off.  And they figure that if we're working just by ourselves, we won't be able to translate it, then we'll do something obvious, get strikes two and three, and then they'll get rid of us.  So they probably think that they'll win either way.  But they don't know exactly how unobvious we can be."

            "You'd be a good, what's one of those muggle people called?  The ones who help people get out of trouble?" Ellie asked.

            "A lawyer?" Harry volunteered.

            "Yes! Kylie, you'd be a good lawyer," Ellie said.  Kylie smiled.

            "I must say, it is a very good idea of what probably is going on," Mundungus said, smiling.

            "Does Terces use Latin a lot?" Ray asked.

            "It is one of their three major languages.  Latin is one, then English obviously, and the other is Norwegian.  One Hogwarts headmaster was Norwegian.  I'll look up some information on her, and I'll tell you next time we meet," Mundungus said.

            Ray was looking kind of out of it.

            "I think that this would be a good time to end our meeting.  It is a Friday, but it's still getting late.  Is everyone not in a state of panic, and are we all calmed down a bit?" Mundungus asked.  Harry nodded, Ray nodded while stifling a yawn, Ellie said: "Yeah, I think", and Kylie shrugged.

            "Alright then.  I'll see you all next week. Don't forget your letters," Mundungus said.  Kylie saluted.

            Harry, Kylie, Ellie, and Ray left through a portal and arrived at the entrance hall.  

            Harry said goodbye to his friends and left for his dorm.  He was just a few paces from the entrance hall when someone, he couldn't tell who, let out a blood-curdling scream.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: I'm evil, I know.  I keep ending at cliffhangers.  I'm sorry, but I just love keeping you all hanging off cliffs.  Well, not literally, but I think you all catch my drift.

Words of Wisdom: "Got to turn on a dime, now…. Make it shine like the gift was intended to be.  It's a light that burns out when you doubt, and you can't get it back if you can't even see."

~Lindsey Pagano

Please Review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	23. Incurable Peril

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I own the plot, some characters, and basically anything that isn't in the books.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry, I was so busy with school, and sports, and everything else that I totally forgot to update! I left you guys at the cliffiest of all cliffhangers, too!  But guess what? Exactly one month- and counting down- from today until my summer hols.  That means much more updating.  Plus the fifth book is coming out soon, too.  It's coming out on my friend's birthday.

Read.

Review.

Ricochet!

Curtains up!

**Chapter Twenty-One**

            Harry ran back to the entrance hall.  

            "What happened? Who screamed?" he asked.

            Ray and Kylie were there too.  Ellie was nowhere to be seen.  The sound of bickering could be heard from somewhere, but Harry couldn't tell where.  

            "Where's Ellie?" Kylie asked.

            "I-I don't know.  She was just here…?" Ray said, trailing off in a puzzled tone. 

            "Maybe we should look around a bit," Harry suggested.

            The three went off in different directions.  It had been about five minutes when Harry heard someone yell.

            "You guys! Come here, I found her!" Kylie yelled.

            Ray and Harry ran over to where Kylie was standing at the entrance to a hallway.  She was talking to a closet.

            Harry saw that Ellie indeed had been found, but she could not be helped.

            What Kylie had actually found was a book.  It was open to a page near the end, where Kylie had seen a picture of two people bickering.  The book had been thrown into the hall closet.

            "Ellie?" Kylie asked.

            "Oh, hi Kylie.  Hold on, one second…" Ellie muttered some sort of incantation, and she climbed from the pages of the book.  She slowly grew back to her normal size.

            "Sorry I screamed.  I'd needed to set something straight with one of my relatives.  The book- it's a family tree kind of thing.  I screamed because someone picked the book up and threw it, and I didn't know who it was," Ellie said.

            The other three were giving her very strange looks.

            "My family was a bunch of Seers, if you must know.  Besides Seeing, a Seer has powers to go into books and see what's happening.  It's just a weird power that goes along with it, like a side effect, almost," Ellie explained.

            "Okay, so why would someone throw a book into a closet?" Kylie asked.

            "I don't know.  But at least it didn't get in the library, it would be kind of strange to have to crawl out of a book with a lot of people around like that,' Ellie said.

            They were all silent for a moment.

            "D'you think it was…?" Ray started.

            Ellie looked at him seriously.  "I was hoping it wasn't.  But it could have been."  All four of them knew that they were talking about Terces.

            "Oh well, I'll just ask Mundungus next time," Ellie said.  "I think we should all go now, it's getting late."

            They all waved to each other as they left, except for Kylie, who saluted.

            Harry was walking along the corridor when he saw a rather interesting painting on the wall.  It showed a forest, with a waterfall, and flowers, and lots of paths.  He had never seen it before.  

            "That's weird," he thought to himself as he continued won the corridor.

*          *            *            *

            Kylie walked into the Slytherin common room exhausted.  She was so exhausted that she just lied down on the couch and fell fast asleep.  

She didn't know that she was being watched.

*          *            *            *

            Harry could barely stay awake during Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day.  

            It wasn't even a boring lesson.  Mrs. Figg had brought in her book about poisonous potions.  

            "Professor Snape, good as his intentions are, only teaches you how to brew potions, but you have never been taught how to identify an evil one.  For the next few lessons, we'll be studying how you can tell if a potion is evil or not by looking at it and touching the liquid, and you will also learn how to use simple magic to transfer an evil or deadly potion into a delightfully tasty drink without the brewer noticing," Mrs. Figg had said.

            Harry and Ron had been working together to figure out the poison level of a certain potion.  

            "What were the levels again?" Ron asked Harry as he examined the crystal phial.

            Harry scanned his notes.  "A poisonous potion is based on the following levels: Harmless, Slightly Dangerous, Illness, Incurable Peril, and Fatal."

            "Why don't we just get someone to drink it?  Then we'll know," Ron said.

            "What if it turns out to be a fatal one?" Harry asked.

            "Well, we could get Malfoy to test it," Ron said.

            "What makes you so sure that Malfoy would drink anything we give him?" Harry countered.

            "Good point.  But we could threaten him by, by…" Ron trailed off, deep in thought.

            "By messing up his hair?" Harry offered.

            "Would that work?" Ron asked, somewhat amused.

            "It worked for Kylie," Harry said, laying his head down on the desk from tiredness.  

            "So, do we have an answer yet?" Mrs. Figg asked as she popped up next to Ron.

            "Well, we really don't know . . ." Ron said.

            "Here, let me help.  Ron, you tell me what color this potion is," Mrs. Figg said.

            "Green," said Ron looking slightly suspicious.

            "Yes, and Harry, touch the liquid for me, would you?" she asked Harry.

            Harry dipped touched a finger to the surface of the potion.  He withdrew his hand quickly.  "It burns," he said.

            "Yes.  Now, a burning sensation means…?" Mrs. Figg asked him.  Harry looked down at his notes quickly.

            "Er, it means that it's incurable peril?" Harry said.  Mrs. Figg didn't answer.

            "And Ron," she said, "Green means what and why?"

            Ron looked at his notes.  "It doesn't list green here…  Just red, blue, and yellow." 

            "Yes, do you know why?"

            "Because all of those colors are primary? And they make every other color?"

            Mrs. Figg smiled.

            "So, green is a mix of blue and yellow.  Yellow means Illness, and blue means fatal? So green would be a mix of them.  So… is it Incurable Peril?" Ron said.

            "Yes! Very good boys!" Mrs. Figg was smiling.  She walked away to assist the next pair, Seamus and Neville.

            "Hey Hermione, we got it right!" Ron said in a bragging voice.

            "Good.  I got all of mine right so far, too. I'm on my third."  Hermione was working with Hannah, a girl from Hufflepuff, who was almost as smart as Hermione.  Ron groaned.  

*          *            *            *

            "I think we should go into his dorm, in the dead of night, and mess up his hair," Ron said as he, Harry, and Hermione were walking down the hall.

            "Why would you want to go into the Slytherin dorm at night?" Hermione said.

            "Why would you want to go into the Slytherin dorm at all?  Even if it was to mess up Malfoy's hair, you could do that's somewhere else," Harry pointed out.

            "Well, I guess.  Maybe we could put Kylie up to it!" Ron said.

            "She wouldn't. She's Malfoy's friend,' Harry said.

            "How does that work?" Ron asked, stopping in the middle of walking just to think.  

            "How does what work?" Hermione asked.

            "How does Malfoy manage to have friends?" Ron said.  Harry and Hermione laughed, and Ron looked at them.  "Seriously, though.  How…?"

            "Hi Harry.  Here's a notice.  See you later. Got to go," Fred Weasley said, running past Harry and shoving a paper in his hand while he passed by.

            "What is it? Come on, open it up!" Ron said.

            Harry read the notice:

            Tryouts for the new Quidditch season will be November 20th, beginning at one o'clock [after lunch].  Returning players should be present to judge all those trying out.  Tryouts will go in this order:

            Ravenclaw: 1:00

            Hufflepuff: 2:00

            Gryffindor: 3:00

            Slytherin: 4:00

            Each team's tryouts should last 45 minutes to an hour.  All returning players should wear team Quidditch robes.  Bring your broomstick.  Thank you in advance for not complaining about this schedule.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                Madame Hooch: Quidditch Director

                                                Fred and George Weasley: Gryffindor Co-Captains

                                                Draco Malfoy: Slytherin Captain

                                                Roger Davies: Ravenclaw Captain

                                    And             Susan Bones: Hufflepuff Captain

            "So it's basically just about the tryouts, then," Hermione said.

            "Malfoy's the captain?!" Ron said.

            "Yes, Weasley, I am.  Why, thinking about trying out?  If you are, be prepared to lose.  Because I'm captain this year, and nothing will keep Slytherin from the cup," said a familiar drawl.

            "Isn't that what Flint said two years ago?  The year that Slytherin lost the cup to Gryffindor?" Hermione said.

            "Oh, are you thinking about trying out too, Granger?  Sorry I didn't see you before, it's hard to tell a Mudblood from the dirt on the walls," Malfoy said fiercely, and then he walked away.

            "Just ignore it, Hermione," Harry said.

            Ron was clenching his fists.

            "We're going to get him someday.  We can all just get his whole family," Ron said.

            "He didn't answer the question," Hermione said.

            "What?" Harry asked.

            "I asked him if he'd repeated what Flint said two years ago, the year that you beat Slytherin for the cup, and he didn't answer.  I guess that means he was, then," Hermione said.  Although Malfoy had insulted her terribly, she seemed rather satisfied.

*          *            *            *

            Somewhere far away, a man was rolling the dice to play the Crevi Game.  The number die said a 13, and the picture die showed two people shaking hands.

Before the man could ponder it, a scroll appeared before him, bearing this message:

You move forward thirteen spaces.  The space you land on says:

"If you should lose, who did you lose to, and if you win, who did you defeat? To win, however, you must go and other players meet."

You are the seventh player to take your turn.

Out of eight players, eight remain.

~Game Host~

            Before the man had enough time to think, or even to complain, he was pulled into the paper and went through it as a portkey to meet another player at Hogwarts School.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  That was another cliffhanger-almost.  I could've left you at a much cliffier spot.  So, does anyone think they know who the man is?  Does anyone think they know who the Terces sodalises are?  Does anyone think they know anything?  I should hope so. 

Words of Wisdom: "Everyone has brilliance, it's just not appreciated until you discover where yours is hiding."

                                                                                    ~James Pendragon

            Okay, so remember to review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	24. He Came From Out of the Shadows

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I own: Kylie, her friends that aren't in the book, the plot, the Crevi Game, Terces, Enna, Plikttro, and those other people affiliated with Terces, Madame Maldade, the Mountains, and a lot of other random stuff that will come in later in the story.

Author's Note:  It's funny, because I actually had to go back and read my last chapter just to remember where I was. I kill you guys with the cliffhangers don't I? But doesn't that always make the next chapter so much better?   I really try you guys, you know I do.  I was thinking about five minutes ago, that maybe I should start a mailing list.  It seems to be a good idea, because people ask me to email them when I've got another chapter up, anyway. So, if you want to be part of the mailing list, leave your email address in your review.  You will review, right?

Thanx for the reviews!

Read.

Review.

Radiolabel. {I don't know what that means, but thanx to DM anyway for suggesting r words!}

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

            Kylie was alone in the library.  It was one o'clock in the morning.  Even Hermione was gone.  Kylie had needed to get a special pass from Madame Pince so that she could stay in the library alone.

But she wasn't alone for long.

            A few bookcases behind her, a man appeared.  He cursed quietly and made an effort to dust off his cloak.  His eyes shone with evil malice. 

            _"How dare that stupid game bring me here?"_ he thought.

            He swished his cloak a little, decided that everything seemed to be all right, and started to walk out from behind the bookcases.  That was when he saw the girl.  He stopped abruptly and tried to determine how loud she would scream when he walked out from behind her.

            Kylie was almost asleep from studying.  It wasn't so much that it was late, because she was able to stay up late, but it was that she was studying Potions.  She was just drifting off when she heard a sound from behind her.  She turned around in her chair.  There was no one.  

            She stared into the darkness behind the bookcases for a few seconds.  Then something moved.  A tall, dark figure emerged from the shadows.

            "Who-who…?" she started to say.

            "Don't be afraid little girl, I won't be harming you if you keep quiet," said the man.

            Kylie squinted and tried to look into the man's eyes.  He removed the hood from his head, and the dim light from the candles shone against his pale skin.

            Kylie gasped.  _"How could he be here?"_ she thought.  She knew this man all too well…

            "You," she whispered.

            "Of course," said the man.

            "Why-why are you here?" Kylie asked.

            "That, that _game_.  It brought me here."

            "What game are you talking about?" she asked.  How could he possibly know…?

            "You know perfectly well of what I speak."

            Kylie took a few deep breaths before speaking again.  _" It's okay, he doesn't recognize you.  You just thought he did.  He doesn't scare you.  Just keep calm, and maybe he'll leave soon."_

"We're supposed to meet each other, I suppose.  I'd rather not introduce myself by name,' the man said.

            "I'd like to keep my name to myself as well," Kylie said.

            "But what reason could you, a little girl, possibly have to keep her name secret?  I will not harm you, not with this game knowing everything we do," the man said, his voice sounded as though the words were slithering off his tongue.

            "What would you, a man who seemingly has nothing to be afraid of, want to keep your name secret for?" Kylie countered.

            "Fair enough.  I won't explain, and you won't have to explain even though I will know who you are eventually," the man hissed.

            "No.  That isn't fair," Kylie said hotly.

            "Isn't fair?  How so?" the man said.

            "You already know who I am,' Kylie said.

            "Than it is more than fair.  If I know who you are, than you must know who I am," the man said icily.

            "I've seen you.  I've met you.  I've been indirectly affected by you," Kylie said.

            "Than it must be that you have the advantage.  I do not remember you.  I think you are lying, because I never forget a face," the man hissed.

            "Neither do I.  You can't see my face.  I recognize your voice,"  Kylie said.

            "My voice?  How interesting.  And if I don't recognize you, we must make it fair.  Step into the light," the man said, as a candle appeared in his hand.

            Kylie quickly blew it out.  "I won't."

            "But that is not part of the rules.  You must play fair," the man said.

            "I won't go into the light.  You know who I am!" Kylie said harshly.

            The man stepped back a few paces, as if he was intimidated.  But it was no more than an act.  Kylie had just sighed in relief when he screeched out a spell.

            "Lumos!" he yelled into the dark room.  Instantly, the room was full of light.

            "Nox!"  Kylie yelled, which returned the room to darkness.  But it wasn't worth it; the man had seen her face.

            "I told you to play fair.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.  I told you to play fair, Kylie," he said.  He pocketed his wand.

            Kylie face was drained of color.  She opened and closed her mouth.

            "I must say I did not expect you to be playing this game," he said.

            "I didn't exactly expect you, either," Kylie managed to say.  _'Don't be scared, it's just him, don't be scared,'_ she thought.

            "Now might be a good time to complete some unfinished business between us, don't you think?" the man said as he pulled out his wand.

            "It's too late.  Your turn was to meet someone else who's playing.  Now that we've met, your time is up," Kylie said defensively.  She didn't exactly know if it was true.

            "What makes you say-?" he started.  But it was too late, time had indeed run out, and he vanished back to his faraway hiding place.

            Kylie sighed with relief and slumped against a bookcase.  She looked at the clock and saw that it was one-thirty in the morning.  She got her books, made sure she had her wand, and left the library.

            Once she was in an empty corridor, she checked to make sure no one was around, and then ran all the way to the Slytherin dungeons.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  That was a short chapter, but I thought it really needed to be by itself.  I'm already working on the next chapter, so it'll be up soon.

Words of Wisdom:  "If you're trying to turn me in to someone else, it's easy to see I'm not down with that, I'm nobody's fool.  If you're trying to turn me into something else, I've seen it before, and I'm over that.  I'm nobody's fool."

            ~ Avril Lavigne 

Thanx for the reviews, keep 'em coming!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	25. Of Quidditch and Cleromancy

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  I'm not even lying.

Author's Note: I'm really hyper right now.  I love sugar.  This should be a happy chapter.  Some Quidditch stuff will be coming into the picture a bit more…  I'll try to make this chapter with a lot of dialogue.  I love dialogue.  

Thanx for the reviews!

Read.

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Redeem!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

            "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" yelled Kylie at breakfast.  Many people in the Great Hall turned to look at her, and the hall went silent.  "Don't you all have something you'd rather do then try to figure out why I'm yelling? Honestly!" she said, and sat down.  Apparently, she did not like sitting at that moment, so she got up, grabbed a letter she'd been reading, and walked out of the hall.  

            Everyone went back to their normal conversations.

            "What was that all about?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione.  

            "I don't know," Hermione said.

            "Really?" Ron asked her.  He looked amazed for some reason.

            "Yes, I really don't know.  Why do you look so…shocked?" Hermione asked.

            "Because there is finally something in the world that you don't know," Ron said.  Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ron smiled smugly.

            "She'd been reading a letter," Harry said, "right before she yelled."

            "I think I'll go talk to her," Hermione said.

            "I don't think so!" Ron said.

            "What?" Hermione asked.

            "You want to find out what's wrong first, so that you can know one more thing that I don't!" Ron said accusingly.

            "Ron, don't be stupid.  I care about what happened to her, and I'm finished eating anyway.  I've got forty minutes until Arithmancy, and you've only got ten minutes until Divination," Hermione said.

            "That doesn't mean-wait, ten minutes?  Come on, Harry, we've got to go!" Ron said, and hit Harry's arm.  He and Harry got up and walked briskly out of the Hall, and then ran all the way to the North Tower.

*          *            *            *

            "Ah, I see unpleasant occurrences in your future," Professor Trelawney said while peering at several stones Harry had tossed on the floor.

            "I wouldn't think she was healthy if she didn't," Harry said under his breath to Ron.  

            They were studying cleromancy, another way of predicting the future.  In cleromancy, you toss objects on the ground, and the shape they form tells you something about your future.  As usual, Professor Trelawney was having great fun predicting tragic events that might happen to Harry.

            "Yes, this is a very unusual shape, dear.  It seems to almost be an animal.  But, lucky for you, it is not the Grim," Professor Trelawney said to Harry.

            "What is it, though?" Ron asked Harry.

            "It appears to be a dog of some sort.  A wolf, even.  If it is a wolf, it is worse than I expected, because wolves symbolize resident evil," Professor Trelawney said.

            "Like the movie?" a voice said from behind Harry.

            "What movie, or, what is a movie?" Professor Trelawney asked Kylie, who had asked the original question.

            "It's a story with moving pictures that's on a screen, it's a muggle invention," Kylie explained.

            "Ah, yes.  I think I had a vision about one of those once…" Professor Trelawney said, looking quite distant.

            "But what does that have to wolves?" Ron asked.

            "There's a movie called 'Resident Evil'.  I can't exactly remember, but I don't think it had anything to do with wolves," Kylie said.

            "Well, muggles aren't exactly the best sort to catch on to animal symbolizations, are they?" Draco Malfoy said, looking rather bored.

            "They aren't all as stupid as you think," Kylie said.

            "Yes, well…I'd like to see one of them try to predict anything," Malfoy said.

            "But enough of this talk!  We must concentrate on the cleromatic energy flowing through the room!  We have limited time in this class!" Professor Trelawney said.

            "Actually, it's time to go.  We have to get to Charms," Ron said.

            "Beware of bad omens!" Professor Trelawney said as they scrambled down the rope ladder and back to present-day civilization.

*          *            *            *

            _Before Divination class, after breakfast_

            "Hi Kylie," Hermione said as she walked out of the Great Hall.

            "Hi Hermione," Kylie said.

            "So, I was just wondering, is there any reason that you yelled out during breakfast?  You don't have to tell me if it's something personal," Hermione said.

            "Well, I'd rather not say exactly what was in it.  It was a just a letter from someone I know, they were telling me that I have to do something that I really don't want to go through with.  It's nothing bad, just annoying," Kylie said.

            "Oh, okay.  I was just worried, that's all," Hermione said.  "Bye."

            "Bye Hermione," Kylie said.

            "Oh, and whatever it is that you have to do, I hope it's not as bad as you think," Hermione said.

            "Thanks, bye," Kylie said smiling.  Hermione walked toward the Arithmancy classroom.

            "Why can't I just tell people things?" Kylie asked herself.  She groaned slightly at her annoying habit of extreme secrecy and got up.  She dusted off her robes and walked to the Divination classroom.

*          *            *            *

            "Wonderful day for Quidditch, isn't it Harry?" Fred Weasley asked Harry when they were at the Quidditch pitch on November 20.  It was tryout day.

            "The wind is sharp, the temperature's cool, the ground is hard; all the elements for a good day of Quidditch, "George Weasley said.

            The Gryffindor Quidditch team was watching the end of the Hufflepuff tryouts.  There were only six players, however, because they needed a new keeper.

            The team talked for about ten minutes about the upcoming season.

            "Yeah, we're starting late this year, because of the pitch changes and all that," George said to the team.

            "It's such a pity about the pitch.  This pitch is fine, but it's hard to get used to," Katie Bell said.

            "Yeah, and just look at all of the places the Snitch could hide in!  The matches could take ages!" Angelina Johnson said, and gestured to the walls of the old pitch.

            "Well, it's a disadvantage for all the teams.  No one's been to this pitch, unless the Slytherins are hiding something from us…" Fred said.

            "We'll just have to try to make the best of it, I guess.  I mean, we have to put up with this pitch for the season," Alicia Spinnet said.

            "It might not be so bad.  You have to admit, it is a cool-looking pitch," Fred said.

            Harry looked around.  It was interesting looking.

            "Hey, the Hufflepuffs are done now," Harry said when he saw the yellow-robed players clearing the field.

            "Okay, team, let's do this," George said.

            For only one available position, there were a lot of people trying out.  Harry only knew about half of them, and half of the ones he knew were just by face or name.  

            "This is how it's going to work.  We're going to put you guys into groups of seven, and you'll each be given a position.  Then two groups at a time will play each other, and we'll have you guys switching positions.  If you don't really want a certain position, but it's the only one open, it's okay because we could use some reserve players for those of us who are more injury-prone," George said, and he looked right at Harry, smiling, while saying the last part.  Harry laughed.

            Overall, the players were mediocre.  Some of them were very good, others could use a deal of help, and some were fairly good.  In the end, each player on the team had written a bunch of notes on which players trying out were the best for each position.

            "Neville really surprised me, I never thought of him as the type to be any good at Quidditch," Angelina said.

            "He'd be a good keeper, I think, because he can block things well.  But I think he's hopeless at being a reserve chaser.  I saw a few players who'd be good reserves for Chasers, though…" Alicia said, and went off in a conversation with Katie and Angelina about the finer points of being a chaser.

            "But I did not see one person who'd make a half-good reserve seeker," Fred announced.

            "I didn't see anyone either.  I didn't see anyone who looked like they were really interested in the position, either," Katie said.

            "It's true.  There weren't any outstanding seekers on the field," Angelina said.

            "Which is unfortunate, because Harry just happens to be the one who all the world is out to harm," George said jokingly.  It may have been a joke, but Harry realized that it was true.

            "You'll just have to not get hurt this season, Harry," Fred said to him smiling.

            "I'll try," Harry said.

            "Hey, look! The Slytherins are having their tryouts next, I think we should take a break from this to see the competition," Fred said.

            Harry was scanning the field to look for anyone that seemed to be every good. 

            "Hey, isn't she your friend, Harry?" Fred asked, and pointed to a girl on the pitch.

            "Yeah, that's Kylie," Harry said.

            "Is she any good?" Fred asked him.

            "I dunno," Harry said honestly.

            Kylie was trying out to be a beater.  She actually turned out to be quite good.  Harry talked to her after the tryouts ended.

            "Hi Kylie," he said.

            "Hey Harry, what's up?  Trying to find a keeper to live up to your old keeper's expectations? I heard he was quite a captain…" she said smiling.

            "Yeah, well a few people looked pretty good out there," Harry said, surveying the pitch.  "You didn't do too bad."

            "I didn't?  Darn!" Kylie said.

            "You wanted to do badly?" Harry asked her.

            "Yeah, it's kind of a long story, though.  Maybe I'll tell you some other time.  But, did I look like I could have made the team?" Kylie asked, looking hopeful.

            "Unfortunately for you and me, yes," Harry said.

            "You don't want me to make the team?" Kylie asked, looking confused.

            "I don't want to have to play against you.  If you said you were trying to do badly, then you must be really good during a game," Harry said matter-of-factly.

            "Well, it's not the first time I've played Quidditch.  I played at my old school, too."

            "Kylie, what are you doing?" asked a voice from behind them.

            Harry and Kylie turned around to see Draco Malfoy.  He looked annoyed.

            "I'm talking to my friend.  Is that a problem?" Kylie asked.

            "It wouldn't be if your 'friend' wasn't a Gryffindor," Malfoy said.

            "So, you wouldn't hate Harry if he was a… Ravenclaw?  And how is it your problem anyway?"

            "It's my problem because I don't want players on my team talking to Gryffindors," Malfoy said.

            "So, I made the team?" Kylie asked, looking sad.

            "Yes. Practice starts tomorrow," Malfoy said.  He walked away.

            Kylie kicked a rock.  "Not fair."

            "I've got to go, Kylie.  See you at dinner," Harry said.

            "Bye," Kylie said.

            Harry walked away, and Kylie pulled out a letter from her robes.  She looked at it, and walked towards the castle.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: That chapter took me weeks to write!  It was almost killing me!

Words of Wisdom:  "Fiction is the art of all things that people don't want to see proven."

~ the Pendragon

So, another chapter finally done.

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	26. Portraits, Potions and Aragog

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer:  I do not own Harry Potter, or anything that seems familiar from the books.  But I do find it extremely odd that the fifth book has had similarities to my story.  Not really huge, major similarities, but very strange all the same…if you get what I'm saying.

Author's Note:  Oh my goshness, the fifth book was so good!  I finished it in one minute short of 24 hours.  Go me!  Some of the time, I was sleeping, though.  I was freaking out when I was reading page 67, because of that thing that's kind of the same as this story, but I'm better now, because the plots are very different.  I'm not saying anything exact about the fifth book, because I don't want to spoil it for people that haven't finished it yet.  

         I'm going to continue this story as if the characters that died in the fifth book didn't die, and the things that happened in the fifth book didn't happen, because I am not yet sure if I can make this story for Harry's sixth year or not, yet.  I'd have to change the dates, and I really have to think about this.  

Anyway, it will remain a fifth year story for this chapter at least.

Read.

Review.

Retrospective!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

          Draco Malfoy was reading the list off of people who had made the Slytherin Quidditch team in the common room the next morning.

         "Janelle Leclerc, you didn't make the team.  Kenneth Greystone, you made reserve chaser.  Craig Tardiff, I certainly hope you don't think you could have made the team.  Kylie D'Alessandro, you made team beater.  Nicholaus Wales, you did not make the team for obvious reasons.  Blake Powers, you made team chaser.  And everyone else, you did not make the team, and most of you failed miserably at the tryouts, but I hope you're not too disappointed.  For those of you that did make it, as well as reserve team members, and everyone who's already on the team, our first practice is tonight at 7 o'clock."

         "That was very mean," Kylie said to him when people started leaving.

         "What?  You made the team!" Draco said.

         "You weren't mean to me, you were mean to everyone else.  I thought Craig was gonna have a panic attack…" Kylie said; looking around for the boy she was talking about.

         "That's not my problem," Draco said nonchalantly.

         "Why can't you ever be nice to people?"  Kylie asked.

         "I'm somewhat nice to you," he said.

         "But you are terrible to everyone else.  Why is that?"  Kylie asked; looking genuinely interested.

         "Why should it matter to you?" Draco said, looking at her suspiciously.

         "Because I'm the only person you're nice too, so I should be nice back, and if I don't really care I should at least pretend to care," Kylie explained.

         "So, do you really care, or are you pretending to care?" Draco asked.

         "Somewhat," Kylie said.

         "Of which one?" Draco asked, looking confused.

         "Both."

         "How so?" he asked.

         "Because I do care, but I have to pretend I'm pretending to care, because, think about it, how would you react if someone cared?" Kylie said.

         "Wow."

         "Wow what?" Kylie asked.

         "That makes no sense at all."

         "Are you telling the truth or pretending to tell the truth?" Kylie demanded.

         "Somewhat."

         "Of both?"

         "Yes."

         "How so?" Kylie asked.

         "I didn't really get most of that, except the last part.  I do not know how I would react if someone really cared," Draco explained.

         "I do," Kylie said.

         "How do you know?" Draco said.

         "Because I just told you that I cared, and this is your reaction," Kylie said matter-of-factly.

         Draco just looked at her.

         "You know what you need, Draco?" Kylie asked.

         "God, what?" he said.

         "You need a friend," Kylie said.  "I will go find you a friend!"

         "If you must, but I doubt I will like this person."

         "I'll bet you ten galleons you'll hate this person," Kylie said.

         "You're on," Draco said.  Kylie ran from the room.

         It took Draco a few moments, but eventually he realized that in order to get the galleons, he must at least somewhat like this  'friend'.  

*       *       *       *

         "Hey Harry, can I talk to you for a second?" Kylie asked Harry after dinner the next night.

         "Sure," Harry said, and followed her out of the Great Hall.

         "Wait her for one second, I need one more person," Kylie said.  Harry nodded yes, and wondered what she was up to.

         In the Great Hall, Kylie was jogging to the Slytherin table.

         "Draco, I found you a friend!" Kylie said.

         "Oh no…" Draco had completely forgotten.

         "Oh yes, come on, you have to meet him!" Kylie said as she pulled him out of the Great Hall.

         "You've got to be kidding me," Draco said when he saw Harry.

         "I'm supposed to be here with Malfoy?" Harry said.

         "Yes.  I have told both of you that you need to get along.  I have told one of you, I can't remember who, that next time I see both of you I'd make you shake hands.  So, shake hands."

         "No," said Malfoy.

         "Why?" said Harry.

         "Because you guys are constantly fighting, and it's getting a bit annoying," Kylie said.  "If you shake hands really quickly, I'll never say a word about it."

         "Fine."

         It was hard to tell exactly what Draco was mumbling.

         Harry held out his hand first, rather reluctantly, but still.  Draco quickly shook his hand.

         Very quickly, Kylie pulled a camera out from her robes and took a picture.

         Draco and Harry dropped each other's hands and stared at her.

         "Give me the camera," Draco said.

         "I don't think I will, but I should be going, have to get this back to Colin Creevey, I expect he'll want a copy…" Kylie said.  Then, she ran down the hall, camera in hand.

         "KYLIE!" Draco yelled and ran after her.

         Harry wasn't as mad as Draco was; he found it quite amusing.

         But he followed them anyway.

         He caught up with Draco at a fork in the corridors.

         "Which way did she go?" Harry asked.

         "Don't know.  I'll take this way," Draco said, and ran off down the corridor on the left.  Harry walked down the corridor on the right.

         It was a hallway where Harry'd never been before.

         He didn't see any signs of her until he got to a dead end.

         The camera she'd borrowed off Colin Creevey was lying in the hallway, against the wall.

         Harry picked it up, and pulled out the picture.  It wasn't him and Draco, that was for sure.  It was mostly red, and blurry, and it looked like…

         "Blood!" a voice called from the hallway where Harry had just come.

         Harry turned around, and he saw Professor McGonagall walking toward him.

         "Potter, what's going on?" she demanded in a don't-mess-with-me tone.

         "I was looking for Kylie, and I found her camera, and this picture, which was taken of blood," Harry couldn't explain where the picture could have been taken.

         "So it was taken of that picture, then, I suppose?" said McGonagall, pointing to a portrait.

         Harry spun around to look at it.

         It seemed to be a portrait of an old Headmistress, and it was splashed with blood.

         "Why is it always you who shows up in the wrong place at the wrong times?" McGonagall said.  "Come with me, Potter.  You're going to talk to the Headmaster."

         "But I didn't do anything!" Harry protested.

         "Oh, I know that, Potter, but it would be wise for you to stay in one place where people can prove you haven't done anything else."

         "What are you talking about, Professor?" Harry asked.

         "I'm talking about the fact that seven other portraits have been vandalized today!  Seven!  I should think that you would feel better telling your story directly to the headmaster quickly, so that you are not suspected, as I assume you will be.  

People always seem to think you cause most of the trouble.  And, it isn't as though you don't, it's just that normally when you do, it is not destruction," McGonagall said.  She began walking.  "I'll take the camera."

         "Have you seen Kylie?" Harry asked her; trying to catch up.

         "I came here to see if I could find Kylie, Draco Malfoy had said something about looking for her also, when I caught him running in the halls.  Is there any reason I should be suspicious about this?" she asked Harry.

         "No, well, she made me and Malfoy shake hands, and she took a picture of us, but she had promised not to tell anyone," Harry explained.

         "If there is one thing I've heard about that girl, it's that she never breaks a promise," McGonagall said.

         "But she ran off with the picture to show someone…"

         "To show them; not to actually tell them.  Do you understand?  She never makes a deal unless she has a surefire way to get out of it, should she have to."

         "Oh."

         "Yes, she's quite a person to gamble with, I imagine…"  McGonagall started.  

         "She gambles?" Harry asked.  He was very confused now.

         "No, but she'd always win if she did.  Not like she needs the money, anyway.  But, I should not be discussing this with you, you are a student, and I am not supposed to discuss the financial situations of other students with you," she said quickly.  Harry smiled.

         By this time they had reached Dumbledore's office.  Professor McGonagall said, "Fizzing Whizbee" and the gargoyles sprung to life and jumped out of place, making way for her and Harry.

         "I've been expecting you, Harry," Albus Dumbledore said, smiling.

         "I will go now, and see what has happened to miss D'Alessandro," Professor McGonagall said, and walked out.

         "Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore said after her.

         Then he turned his attention to Harry.

         "Hello Harry, would you like a lemon drop?" Albus said.

         Harry took a yellow candy.  He was sure nothing he took from Dumbledore would be as risky as taking something from anyone else {who knows what Fred and George Weasley could have put in their candy?}.

         "I suppose you are wondering why I requested a chat with you?" Dumbledore asked, smiling behind his half-moon glasses.

         "Yes."

         "Well, there is nothing the matter, except that eight portraits of school headmasters and headmistresses have been vandalized, and generally whenever anything happens, your fellow students always seem to think you as the culprit.  You don't have much respect for the rules, but you've never destroyed anything," the old wizard said.

         "So, by me coming to your office, people won't get suspicious?"  Harry asked.

         "No, of course they'll be suspicious.  Most of the school has seen at least one vandalized portrait today.  If I address the school later asking if anyone has information about who did it, they will remember how you have already been here, and realize that it is not you."

         "Isn't that a lot to go through, just to make sure people don't get suspicious?"  Harry asked.

         "Well, I had to give Minerva a reason to bring you to my office without her getting suspicious," Dumbledore said.

         "So, why am I really here?" Harry asked.

         "Because I wanted to know if you know anything about who did it.  There have been strange goings on in this school.  Stranger than normal.  I don't mean to accuse you, but do you have anything to do with it?" Dumbledore asked.

         "Do you mean the things about, like Halloween?  And, about the Quidditch pitch, and all that stuff?  Because I don't have anything to do with that, really I don't-" Harry said.

         "Do you know anything about it?  Or, do you know anyone who would know anything about it?  I'm concerned for the school's safety, that's all," the wizard said.

         "I don't know anything," Harry said.

         "Alright, you may go.  Take another lemon drop for the trip, if you'd like," Dumbledore said smiling.

         "Thanks,' Harry said, taking a lemon drop as he left.

*       *       *       *

         Harry didn't have anything to do for the rest of the evening, so he took the scenic route back to the dorms.

         This meant that he would pass by the hospital wing.

         As he was passing by, he checked in briefly, just to see if he was friends with anyone there.  Usually there was no one.

But not today.

         He looked in and saw the person he'd been looking for the whole time.  Kylie was in one of the hospital beds, sleeping.

         "What happened to Kylie?" he asked Madame Pomfrey.

         "Oh, it's you.  What have you done to yourself this time?" Madame Pomfrey asked him.  Usually Harry was in the hospital wing once or twice a year, most often for doing something dangerous.

         "I was just passing by…" Harry said.

         "Then you can keep passing by.  You're disturbing my patients," Madame Pomfrey said, as she was giving a cup of tea to a boy Harry didn't know, who appeared to have come down with an illness.

         "But I want to know what happened to my friend..." Harry said.

         "Fine.  Which one's your friend?" the nurse asked; finally giving in.

         "Kylie," Harry said, nodding towards his friend.

         "Oh, her.  Well, she had some sort of panic attack a few corridors down.  It was very odd; she managed to walk all the way here by herself.  She looked really sick; she was very pale and kind of dragging herself along," Harry noticed that Madame Pomfrey seemed to be restricting what she was telling him.

         "Oh yes, and she had a message for you.  Well, she said it was for you or That Malfoy boy, whoever came first.  She wanted someone to find her camera."

         "Well, Professor McGonagall has her camera.  Did she just drop everything?" Harry asked.

         "No, she was holding a picture when she came," Madame Pomfrey pointed to a picture on Kylie's bedside table.  Harry looked at it.  It was the picture of him and Draco shaking hands.

         "Is that all?" the witch asked in an annoyed tone.

         Harry nodded, thanked her, and walked back to Gryffindor tower.

*       *       *       *

         "What?" Hermione said.

         "Wow," said Ron.

         Harry had just told them what had happened to Kylie.

         "So, she dropped everything and left, only she made sure she had some picture?"  Ron asked.  Harry nodded.

         "Smart move," said Ron.

         "That's very rare though, that someone can drag themselves that far after having a-what did she say it was?" Hermione said.

         "Pomfrey said it was some sort of panic attack," Harry explained.

         "So, the school nurse doesn't even know what happened to her?  What kind of nurse is that?  It just sounded like Kylie fainted or something!"  Ron said.

         "Thank you, Doctor Ron," Harry said grinning.

         Ron's ears went slightly pink.

         "He has a point though, unless there was something about her symptoms Madame Pomfrey didn't tell you, it sounds like Kylie fainted," Hermione said.

         "She did seem kind of like she wasn't telling me something," Harry said, thinking back to earlier that evening.

         "Oh well, we'll just have to ask Kylie when we see her later, then," Hermione said.

         "Did you talk to her at all?"  Ron asked Harry.

         "No, she was asleep the whole time," Harry said.

         "Darn!" Hermione said.

         "Well, she probably needed to sleep, Hermione," Harry said.

         "No, not that.  I was just looking at our schedule.  We have History of Magic, double potions, and Care of Magical Creatures tomorrow!" Hermione said.

         Ron groaned.

         Harry groaned.

         "It could be worse,' Hermione said.  'It could be History of magic, double potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination."

         "That wouldn't be any worse for you, Hermione, you dropped Divination," Ron pointed out.

         "But at least we do get to see Hagrid," Harry said.

         "Yeah, we get to see Hagrid, and some dangerous, life threatening monsters, and Malfoy, and all of his Slytherins buddies," Ron said.

         The trio sighed in sync, and continued the conversation before eventually going to bed.

*       *       *       *

         "Longbottom, do you have any idea what the definition of 'potion' is?  Because if you look it up, you will find that whatever it is in your cauldron looks nothing like it," Professor Snape said in Potions class the next day.

         Neville Longbottom blushed deeply, and with the help of Hermione, made his potion a little better.

         "Ah, yes.  Potter, do you know the difference between dust of anthracite and powder of sandstone?  Obviously, Potter, you must not, because your potion is red, whereas Malfoy here, who has used the correct ingredients, has a green potion.  _Fix it,_" Snape said, before moving on to criticize another student's potion.

         "Hermione, how d'you take an ingredient out of a potion?" Harry asked her.

         "Oh, it's very simple, you just say '_Extratus'_ and then collect the ingredient in a phial," Hermione explained.

         Harry got a phial ready, and said, "_Extratus!"_ The powder of sandstone was attached to the end of his wand like a cord, and Harry just had to pick it up and drop it into the phial, where it returned to it's normal shape, as a fine powder.  Harry looked around for some dust of anthracite, and when he found some, he poured it into his potion, and stirred it three times counter-clockwise, so that it became green.

         He sighed.

         "I see, Potter, that you have finally managed to make a satisfactory Memory Potion.  Maybe you won't turn out to be such a failure after all.  But maybe not," Snape said, looking down at Harry from his hooked nose.

         "I hate him so much!" Harry said after class.

         "Don't let him get to you, he's just trying to psych you out or something," Ron said.

         "Ron!  He's a teacher!" Hermione said.

         "Yeah, but you said that about Quirrel, too, and look what happened there," Ron pointed out.

*       *       *       *

         Kylie was out of the Hospital Wing in time for Care of Magical Creatures class.

         "Hi guys," she said as they were walking down the hill to Hagrid's hut.

         "Kylie! Are you okay?  We heard what happened!"  Hermione said.

         "Yeah, but we didn't see the picture," Ron muttered.  He'd really wanted proof that Harry and Malfoy had shaken hands.

         "I'm not showing that to anyone, that'd be mean," Kylie said.

         "You didn't want to be mean?  Really?  You seemed fixed on showing Colin Creevey that picture yesterday," Harry said.

         "I did?" Kylie said.

         "Yeah. Don't you remember?" Harry asked her. 

         "No, I can't remember anything that happened yesterday from the morning until I woke up in the Hospital Wing.  I didn't forget much that's important, I think…  Except, I had a test in Charms this morning.  I couldn't remember anything Flitwick said yesterday," Kylie said, frowning.

         "That's too bad, maybe he'll let you retake it?" Hermione suggested.

         "I don't really care too much, I do well in Charms, so it'll all balance out.  I'll just ace the next test, I guess…" Kylie said.

         "So, if you were in Charms this morning, why weren't you in Potions?" Ron asked.

         "I needed to go get medicine from the Hospital Wing, and Madame Pomfrey asked me a million questions, so it took forever," Kylie said, rolling her eyes.

         "Hey Harry, Ron and Hermione!  An', wha's yer name?" Hagrid asked Kylie.

         Kylie smiled.  "Kylie D'Alessandro.  You're Hagrid, right?" Kylie asked.

         "Yep, tha's it.  You like creatures much?' Hagrid asked.  Kylie nodded.

         "Well, jus' wait 'til yeh see wha' I've got today," Hagrid said, grinning broadly.

         "Kylie, how come you didn't meet Hagrid until today?" Ron asked.

         "I switched to this class.  I used to take Ancient Runes, but it bored me, so I switched," Kylie said.

         "I quite like Ancient Runes," Hermione said.

         "Well, it's okay for some people, but I just don't like having to translate things too much.  I took a hieroglyphics class at my other school, and it nearly killed me," Kylie said.

         Harry laughed.  Kylie looked at him seriously.

         _'How could she be serious?'_  Harry thought to himself.  But he hardly had time to think, because Hagrid started talking.

         "Alrigh', today I've got some really interestin' stuff fer yeh.  Yeh even get ter choose which creature yeh want to work with.  Here are yeh choices, yeh could try feedin' flobberworms again, I got some more, cos' I know how much yeh all liked em', or yeh could open yer books an' read abou' Acromantulas, then see if the book tells the truth by actually observin' a real Acromantula.  So, wha'll it be?"

         The class all wanted to study the Acromantula {"But they're sooo dangerous," said Hermione}, and Hagrid looked somewhat surprised {"I though' yeh all liked 'em"? he'd said}.  

         "Honestly, why doesn't a creature exist that isn't completely boring, yet not dangerous enough that I have to complain to my father about it?" Draco Malfoy said during the lesson.

         "You don't have to tell your father, Malfoy.  You can just get over your fear of whatever it is and suck it up," Hermione said to him.

         "Shut your mouth, Mudblood, and never mention my father again," Malfoy said, glaring at her.

         "Draco!" Kylie said.

         "What now?" he asked.

         "Don't talk to her like that!" Kylie said.

         "Why shouldn't I?" Draco asked her.

         "Remember a certain picture I have?" Kylie asked.

         Draco looked at her quickly.  Kylie raised her eyebrows.  "I though that'd shut him up," she said quietly to Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

         "I heard that!" Draco said.

         "That was my intention,' Kylie countered.

         Draco was silent for the rest of the class.

         The class had mixed reactions to the giant spider that Hagrid showed them.  Some were scared, and screamed.  Some were impressed, and talked excitedly to each other.  But Harry and Ron had a different reaction.

         "Aragog?" they said in unison.

         "You know that spider?" Kylie asked them.

         "We met him in our second year, when we were in the Forbidden Forest," Harry explained.

         "You did?" Hermione said.

         "You were petrified," Ron said quickly.

         "Well, so you know him, so what?"  Hermione said.

         "He tried to feed us to his kids!" Ron said.  He looked absolutely stricken.  His fear of spiders had not at all softened.

         "Well, that changes things…" Kylie said.

         "I think I'll go, over there, kind of, behind that nice big tree or something.  Somewhere where I can't see it, I mean, somewhere it can't find me…" Ron said, stuttering.

         Harry just stayed behind a few other kids, since Harry was on the shorter side, and Aragog wouldn't be able to see him.

         For the entire rest of the lesson, Ron was huddled behind the tree, hiding out of fear.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  [PLEASE READ THIS] That was a very long chapter.  I'm very happy with it.  

         Listen, you guys.  I've been thinking, I could make this a sixth year story if it's easier for people.  I'd have to edit some chapters to make changes, which could take a few days of not updating.  But I'd do it for the sake of not confusing people.  

         So, I'm going to ask you guys your opinion on this.  So, in your review, please say if you want me to make it a sixth year story or if I should just leave it.  If I were to change it, it would only take a few days, a week at the most, to change it.  

         So, just put what you think in your review, and I'll love you for it.

Words of Wisdom:  "What is this feeling taking over?  Thinking no one could open my door.  Surprise…its time, to feel what's real,"

~Kelly Clarkson 'Miss Independent'

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	27. The Wolf and the Lion

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money off of this.  That would be rather nice, but that's just not how the world does things.  

Author's Note: Okay, the story stays as is.  Just imagine that nothing in the fifth book happened. 

            Anyway, I hope you've all been well?  Are we all having relaxing summers {or winters, if you live south of the equator}? It took a little while to get this chapter up and going, just because I was out if it a little.  But now I'm all good, and ready to write.

Read.

Review.

Return! {A special thanx goes out to Ravenclaw@heart for giving me this R word!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

            "One week is all the time we have," said Enna in the Atrium.

            "Is that a lot or a little?" Brann asked.

            "Both," Enna said, sighing.

            "How is it both?" Skully asked.

            "Well, we do not need to worry about planning anything, I've got it all together with Plikttro, Reelle, and Sammen, you all just need to listen and do what we say," Enna said smiling.

            Terces was setting up they're next major operation: the first Quidditch match.

            "Oh, but before, we get into that, can I tell you all something?" said Strella, who looked rather excited.

            "Yes?" Enna asked patiently.

            "I think I've found out what my name means," Strella said.

            "Really?  So early in the school year, too…" Plikttro said.

            "Yes.  I was up late after our last meeting in the library we have here.  It took ,me weeks of research," Strella said.

            "That gives the rest of us a lot of hope," Brann said sarcastically.

            "Brann, just because you have probably neglected the idea of actually researching your name's meaning doesn't mean that no one else has been responsible," Reelle said, smiling at Strella.

            Reelle and Strella were both in charge of one of the four powers together, so they were very good friends.

            "So, tell us, what have you come to know 'Stralende' means?" Hekserienne asked with a flourish.

            "It means 'brilliant'," Strella said, beaming.

            "I applaud you, for being the first to discover the meaning of your name.  Yes, you name does mean brilliant," Enna said, smiling.

            "So, we're actually calling her 'brilliant?" Brann asked.

            "She is brilliant," Enna said.

            "I didn't mean it that way, I meant that we're calling each other adjectives?  Not actual names?" Brann asked.

            "Yes, because names can be anything you want to name someone," Plikttro said.

            "But that makes it seem like she's actually from the house that the staff put her in," Brann said.

            "No, no!  Brann, don't ever say that!" Enna said.

            "What'd I do?  What'd I say?" Brann asked, confusedly.

            "To say that Terces is in any way like any of the other four houses is one of the most offensive and insulting things that you can do as a sodalis!" Sammen said.

            "Strella is brilliant in ways other than schoolwork! You can be brilliant in many ways, you know.  There are different types of intelligence, and you can just as easily excel in any of them," Reelle explained.

            "Oh, sorry, then.  But, I really didn't know," Brann said quickly.

            "Well, don't you ever say anything like that again!" said Enna, "This is your only warning," she finished.

            "Okay, okay… But can we please move on to plans for the match? I've been looking forward to that for a while now," Brann said.

            The eight sodalises quickly resumed their work on plotting their next big move.

*          *            *            *

            Harry was in his dorm alone when he got his next turn in the Crevi Game.  He picked up the two dice and dropped them at the same time.  He watched them spin around before they both fell into stillness.

            Harry first looked at the gold die, which showed the number 7.  The second die was much more interesting to look at, with all of the small pictures.  The picture that was face-up gave Harry a very strange feeling.  The picture was that of a wolf, a wolf that looked much like the wolf stamped on P.1 Rebirth's letters.  Harry gulped.  He waited a few seconds before a piece of parchment appeared before him.  He read it.

You move forward seven spaces.  The space you land on says:

"To win this game, make the most of meeting the group that is the host."

You are again the fifth person to take your turn.

Out of eight players, eight remain.

~Game Host~

            Harry was just a little bit confused.  Did this mean that he had to meet the host?  If so, hadn't Mundungus Fletcher said that Terces was hosting the game, because that could cause some problems for Harry.  And even if he was supposed to meet Terces, how could that happen? Wasn't Terces supposed to meet in ultra-secret places? 

            Harry's questions were answered when he felt a light breeze start up around him. The breeze turned into a heavy wind, which became so harsh that Harry had to close his eyes.  He was partially aware that somewhere, someone was calling out his name.  But he couldn't tell who it was, because the wind stopped suddenly, and Harry found himself falling forward into a room where he'd never before been.

            He was in a magnificent hall, with very hard stone floors.  The walls were draped with dark violet curtains, and there were many portraits.  Harry did a double take on the portraits, realizing that they were not paintings of people.  They were paintings of wolves.

            Harry inhaled quietly and stood up, looking around a bit more.  At one end of the hall there was a gigantic purple swirled marble fireplace.  There were no doors, and no windows.  Although there was a large staircase.  Harry heard a sound that perhaps had been there all along, but Harry hadn't noticed it until now.  It was similar to the sound of running water, therefore also similar to the sound that existed in the room where Harry met with Mundungus Fletcher and the others.

            Harry looked around, trying to find out where the sound was coming from.  It occurred to him that maybe the sound was coming from no specific place.  But this hardly satisfied him as an acceptable answer.

            Harry looked at the ceiling, thinking maybe the sound was coming from there.  It seemed like an unlikely idea to him, but if the Great Hall's ceiling could reflect the weather outside, than it was possible that this ceiling could make sounds.

How could Harry have known that the unlikely choices were always the ones that Terces was likely to chose?

            Indeed, the sound was coming from the ceiling.  Harry found himself gazing at its swirling opal form for quite a time before a voice brought him to reality.

            "What are you doing here?" a girl asked Harry.

            Harry snapped into the real world and took a moment to study the girl before answering.  She didn't appear to be angry, which was good.

            She had long brown hair and purple eyes, and Harry remembered her as one of the people he'd seen on the last night before he returned to Hogwarts earlier that year.  She wore lots of jewelry, and she was wearing white robes.

            "I don't know," Harry answered truthfully.

            "How did you get here?" she asked.

            "A game brought me here.  I had no choice at all," Harry explained.

            The girl looked pensively at Harry.  "The Crevi Game, you mean?" 

              
            Harry nodded yes.

            "Well, what did the picture show?" the girl asked.

            "It was a wolf," Harry said.    

            "And the message?" she inquired.

            "It was something like, 'To win this game, make the most by meeting the group who's the host'," Harry said, trying to remember.

            The girl nodded.  "Alright.  I'll tell you what the game requires me to tell, but absolutely no more.  I suppose you know who the group is?" the girl said.  Harry nodded.

            "First of all, I have to say that I am the only one of us here right now, everyone else has left.  I believe that to say you 'met' someone in this game, you have to introduce yourselves and the like?" the girl asked.

            "I guess so," Harry said, not feeling ready to give up his name just yet.

            "Okay.  My name is Hekserienne, but people call me Enna.  I started Hogwarts one thousand years ago.  When the headmaster felt that they had to put me in one of those houses, they put me in Slytherin, then changed to Ravenclaw, then changed to Hufflepuff, then they put me in Gryffindor," Enna said.

            Harry felt very strange talking face to face with someone from the secret society that he was trying to help destroy.  It was difficult to tell if she knew he was involved in that or not.

            "I'm Harry.  The Sorting Hat sorted me into Gryffindor.  I started at Hogwarts five years ago," Harry said.  He didn't plan to tell any more than he had to.

            "Gryffindor?  You seem like you would be more of a… well, not as much of a Gryffindor," Enna said.

            "Well, Gryffindor is the only house I'd ever want to be in," Harry said defensively.

            "Oh?  You'd never make it in any of the others?" asked Enna, who was walking in slow circles around Harry now.

            Harry didn't answer.

            "You mean to tell me that you are purely Gryffindor, nothing else at all?" Enna asked.

            "Yes."

            "But you speak Parseltongue?" Enna asked.

            "How'd you know that?" Harry asked after a few minutes.

            "Mundungus Fletcher told me," Enna said.

            "But Fletcher said that no one except-" Harry started.

            Enna was grinning.

            Harry inhaled quickly.  He knew that by saying he knew Mundungus Fletcher gave away a lot to Enna.

            "Isn't this enough to qualify as meeting someone?" Harry asked, waiting for the game to bring him back too Gryffindor Tower.

            "As the host of the game, we can change the rules just a little," Enna explained.

            "But when can I leave?" Harry asked.  

            Enna stopped walking, so that she was standing in front of Harry facing him.

            "I'm afraid, Harry Potter, that I can't let you do that."

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  I'm sorry that chapter took so long, but it required some looking back at previous chapters.  And I'm also half sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger again.  I'm only half sorry because I love ending things that way.  I like the not knowing that goes on.  

Words of Wisdom:  How lucky I am to have something worth saying good bye to,"

~Unknown

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	28. The Quidditch Match That Almost Happened

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer:  If I owned Harry Potter, and all related things, wouldn't this be in book form as opposed to on a website?  Wouldn't I be a millionaire? Yes, I would, but for anyone who doesn't know, no, I'm not a millionaire.  Now that this is all cleared up, I think I'll move on to the next chapter, thank you very much…

Author's Note: Hello! I was thinking about Harry Potter a little while ago, and just got in the mood to write a chapter.  You know, I only have a vague idea of where this story is going.  I know the last paragraph of the story, but I'm not entirely certain what happening in the next chapter.  I think it's about time I got to Christmas, though, don't you think?

            But don't worry; I have this all going in some direction for the time being.  

I think.

Read.

Review.

Riddle! {Much thanx to Pendragon for giving me this word!}

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

            "Hey, NEVILLE!" Fred Weasley yelled across the common room.

            "What's up?" Neville.

            "Well, you know, tomorrow's the first Quidditch match," Fred said.

            "And we just felt the need to remind you to be there," George Weasley said, stepping out from behind his twin brother.

            "Why?" Neville asked.

            "You don't remember?" George asked.

            "You're our keeper now, mate.  But if you can't remember that, maybe we should find someone else…" Fred said.

            "…To replace you," George finished.

            "But we don't want to have to do that," Fred said.

            "Because you really were the best player at tryouts," George completed.

            "You guys never said I made keeper!" Neville said.

            "I think we did, Neville, I think we did," George said.  His voice sounded like a detective who was trying to hint that they knew who did it.         

            "But we _could_ find someone else…" Fred said.

            "…To replace you, if you want," George said.

            Neville gaped at them for a few moments.

            "I didn't think you'd want us to have to go there," George said, smiling.

            "See you tomorrow night, mate.  Be in the locker rooms at six thirty!" Fred said.

            "Take it easy, Neville," said George, who cuffed Neville's shoulder so hard Neville winced.  The twins left the room talking.

            "Ow," Neville said, rubbing his shoulder.

*          *            *            *

            "Ron, have you seen Harry?" Hermione asked that night.

            "Not since dinner, no," Ron replied, half his concentration on the essay he was writing.

            "That's odd.  I was supposed to help him with a Potions essay," Hermione said, looking thoughtful.

            "Were you going to help me, too?" Ron asked, seeming more concerned about Snape's possible wrath if he failed his homework than the fact that his best friend was missing.

            "Yes, because I figured you'd need help with the Draught of Obedience potion, too," Hermione said.

            "Oh, so that's what our homework was…" said Ron, seeming mildly surprised.

            Hermione glared at him for a split second.

            "Do you think he could be in the library?" Hermione asked.

            "Hermione, you said you'd help him, so why would he need to look anything up?  I mean, you practically _are_ a library!" Ron said.

            Hermione gave him an annoyed look.

            "Look, Ron, Harry's got to be somewhere in this castle," Hermione said.

            "Are you saying you want me to help you look for him?" Ron asked.

            "Yes, but I don't think we could find him alone, really, who knows where he is?" Hermione asked.

            "What are you trying to get at?" Ron asked suspiciously.

            "Well, we need someone who knows there way around the place, even the secret passages and rooms you're not supposed to know about," Hermione said as if she was trying to hint something.

            "Was someone talking about me?" George Weasley asked, popping up behind Hermione.

            "I believe they were talking about _me_, George, sorry to be the one to have to tell you that," said Fred, who was patting his twin's shoulder sympathetically.

            "I was talking about _both_ of you," Hermione said.

            "Great," said George.

            "We'll do it," Fred added.

            "Wonderful!  Come on, we need to start soon, it's almost time that students can't be in corridors," Hermione said.

            "You mean time that students can't be _seen_ in corridors," said Fred.

            Hermione smiled.  Ron thought this was odd, since she was smiling about them breaking rules.

            Hermione gathered up a few things, and made for the door.  Ron followed, and then Fred and George went last, talking quietly.

            "Hey, what did we decide to help with?" asked Fred.

            "Oh yeah, we forgot about that," said George.

            The party of four left the common room and proceeded into the corridor.

*          *            *            *

            "Can I ever leave?" asked Harry.

            "Well, we'd have to put a lot of spells on you.  You'd have to pass tests making sure that you are really trustworthy.  All this, plus a lot more, would take a great deal of time, which we just don't have right now," Enna replied.

            "Well, is the only reason you're keeping me here so that I won't tell what you're doing?" Harry asked, trying to find a way, any way, out of where he was.

            Enna laughed a little.

            "That isn't much of the reason at all.  The real reason you have to stay here is because we need you," she said.

            "What do you need me for?" Harry asked.

            "I already know that you know Mundungus Fletcher.  And we know that Mundungus Fletcher is doing something to try and stop us.  All I had to do was put two and two together," Enna said.

            Harry sat in silence for a few moments.

            "So, I'm supposed to tell you everything that's been happening with Fletcher?" Harry asked.

            "Basically, yes," Enna said.

            "Oh," said Harry.  He was very close to giving up hope.

            "Did you think we'd let you off easily?" Enna asked.

            "Well, I was kind of hoping that, seeing as I didn't do anything wrong…" Harry said, trailing off.

            "You are trespassing," Enna said simply.

            "The game brought me here!" Harry protested.

            Enna was deep in thought for a moment.  "That's true, but did you have to play the game?"

            "I didn't have to?" Harry asked, surprised.

            "Well, you're supposed to play, but there are ways out, if you look carefully," Enna explained.

            Harry thought for a minute.  "Well, what would be the reasons for not wanting to play?  It's not as though the game can do much bad, can it?"

            Enna chuckled.  "You don't know much about the Crevi Game, do you?"

            Harry shook his head.

            "It's more complex than you might think.  Really, there is no guarantee that you'll be safe," Enna said.

            "You mean people could get hurt?" Harry asked.

            "It's more dangerous than you could imagine," Enna said.

            "Why, what could happen?" Harry asked.

            "How closely have you looked at the silver die?" Enna asked.

            "Well, I've seen some of the pictures, like the walking forwards and backwards ones, and the one of the wolf, and the one of two people shaking hands," Harry said.

            "So you haven't looked very closely then," Enna said.

            "Well, there is one possibility that you might roll the silver die and see a picture of two people dueling face up.  In that case, the gold die would only show a number between one and eight.  Whichever number you roll corresponds to the number of another player.  You would have to duel that person," Enna said.

            Harry thought about this for a minute.  

            Who had really created the Crevi Game?  And why would it have to be so dangerous in order to be effective?  And once someone won, what would happen?  At the end, would they all suddenly realize what the point was?

            "Why does it have to be so dangerous?" Harry asked.

            "I will only tell you so much, for I have come to comprehend that the danger involved is beyond understanding.  It was created to be a game of good versus evil.  One thousand years ago, it was played for the first time, and Evil won.  It is one of the rules that whoever wins the game gets to change one rule for the next time it's played.  The Evil side knew that they would come back, so they wanted to make it more dangerous," Enna explained.

            "But in wizard duels, people can die," Harry said.

            Enna shrugged.  "I believe you know that there are things far worse than death?" Enna asked, and then continued talking before Harry could answer.  "Worse things can happen in the game.  You could be forced to meet someone, and they could kill you, if you insist death is that bad.  But there are guidelines when meeting people, so sometimes both people live," Enna said.

            Harry paused for a second.  It seemed quite strange for him to be talking to someone who was definitely part of this Evil {which Harry knew had to be really bad, because when she said the word 'Evil' he could tell she spelled it with a capital E}.  

            "Why are you telling me all this?" Harry asked.

            "Well, they're just the extended rules," Enna said.

            "Are there any rules about captivity?" Harry asked.

            Enna laughed. "Yes, but as the game host we can change the rules, I thought I'd told you that," Enna said.

            "But I thought that you could only change one rule if you won the game," Harry said.

            "We won last time," Enna said.  She sounded like she was trying to talk to a five year old.

            "Yes, but you changed the rule to make things more dangerous, and you changed the rule to keep me here," Harry said.

            "Well, I was just a little dishonest about the rule about keeping you here.  You see, to be properly introduced, you need to know each others names," Enna explained.

            "But you told me your name was Enna," Harry said, confusedly.

            "But that was not my original name," Enna said.

            "But it is what people call you, therefore, it is a name," Harry said.

            Enna's smile faltered a little.  She looked contemplative for a moment, and then her smile returned.

            "But, originally, I was not called that.  You have always been called Harry," Enna explained satisfactorily.

            "What, you guys get new names?" Harry asked.  He planned on not letting up on the subject for a while.

            "Our old names do not suit us, therefore, new ones are given," Enna said.

            "Who chooses peoples names?" Harry asked.

            "Well, it's not up to us, really-" Enna started to say, but with one look into Harry's eyes, she stopped.

            "What are you trying to get at?" Enna asked, her eyes narrowing.

            "Nothing, honest!" Harry said innocently.

            Enna cocked her head slightly to the left, her expression as still as night.

            "If you think that I am going to tell you everything, than you are in for nothing short of direness when you meet the rest of us, and they already know all about you being here" Enna said.  Her voice was colder, harder than it had been. 

            Harry was slightly surprised at this.  He'd known there were other members of Terces, but it hadn't occurred to him that he'd have to meet them.

            Enna laughed coldly at his expression.  "You'll be in for quite an… experience, I presume.  We both know that," Enna said.

            Harry didn't answer.  He expected to know at least one person there.  After all, one of them was presently living in the Gryffindor dorms.  He wouldn't have been shocked if he knew the other three, also.

            Enna knew that Harry was at least partially worried about meeting the other sodalises.  She knew that he was acquainted with more than one of them.  She was almost certain he'd meet them and have tribulations.

But what Enna also knew, was that there are always exceptions.

*          *            *            *

            "He's not here," Angelina Johnson said, shaking her head.

            "How could he be late?" Katie Bell asked, looking confused.

            "It's his responsibility to the team," Alicia Spinnet said in a both annoyed and worried tone.

            "He never seemed to be the type to blow off a Quidditch match," Fred Weasley said, looking dumbfounded.

            "Tell me about it, against Slytherin and all," George Weasley said as if it was the thing in the world that was most unlikely to ever occur.

            "I haven't seen him since last night at dinner," Neville said.

            Five heads turned to Neville.  It was ten minutes before the start of the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin.  The Gryffindor team was in the locker rooms, but Harry Potter was nowhere to be found.

            "Dinner? That was the last time you saw him?" Alicia asked.

            Neville nodded.

            "You know, I haven't seen Harry with my brother much over the past twenty-four hours, and they're usually up to something," Fred said.

            "I saw him go to the boys' dorms soon after dinner, but I never saw him after that," Katie said.

            The team was silent for a few moments.  A whistle sounded outside on the pitch.  It was time for the team to go onto the pitch and start the match.

            "Well, he's not here, and we don't have a reserve Seeker," George said.

            "No- you don't mean, we don't have to, to _forfeit_?" Angelina asked.

            "I'm pretty certain we have no choice.  I doubt Hooch will let us reschedule," Fred said sadly.

            The team was silent for another second.  

            George sighed and spoke up.  "We have to forfeit then, but Harry better have one heck of an explanation," he said in a hoarse voice.

            Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the team before they walked onto the pitch, defeated before the game began.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: You know you want to know where this is going.  But, I'm not going to post another chapter until you review.  Hint, hint. 

Well, that was a fun chapter, lots of unpleasantness and misery.

Words of Wisdom: "If there is a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, than you must write it,"

~Toni Morrison 

Please review!

This is Starry, signing off.

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	29. The Great Escape

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I think y'all know how incredibly awesome it would be if I owned Harry Potter.  Well, incredibly awesome things have happened to me, but that is not one of them.  I own the plot, some characters and settings, and anything that is unfamiliar from the books.

Author's Note: Hey guys! I am just in a writing mood for some reason.  I don't know why, but I really like it.  In this chapter, I will start bringing Christmas into the picture, I promise!  And I may possibly write Harry a way out of the Terces Atrium.  

         I go back to school tomorrow.  Thought you all might like to know.

Read.

Review.

Refrain from all violent actions!

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

         "Where can he be?" Hermione asked Ron during lunch.  

         "My guess is as good as yours," Ron said while he was chewing.  "Actually, your guess is probably better than mine, if you have one…"  

         "I've already told McGonagall and Dumbledore, and I don't know who they've told, but I'm getting really worried!" Hermione said in a voice that was almost scolding.  She had been picking at her lunch, but hadn't really eaten anything.

         "He'll show up.  You know, I'm worried, too, no need to get testy," Ron said in a defensive tone.

         "I'm sorry.  It's just that it's been three days, and I've gotten so worried I can hardly do my homework.  I've only finished three essays!" Hermione said, concernedly.

         "Three?  Blimey, Hermione, I think I'm nearly done with one!" Ron said, temporarily sidetracked from the disappearance of his friend.

         "We searched the whole castle.  We looked through all the secret passageways, all the corridors, the classrooms and offices.  Fred and George showed us rooms I never knew existed, and Harry wasn't in any of them," Hermione said, shaking her head.

         "Yeah, but, Hermione, you know Hogwarts.  The castle's huge, half the rooms aren't even known about, and almost everything moves around constantly.  It would take forever to search the entire castle," Ron said.

         "Thanks Ron.  That's really reassuring," Hermione said sarcastically.

         "Sorry, but don't you know anyone who could help?" Ron asked, pausing his eating.

         Hermione shook her head slowly, and then stopped.  She looked straight ahead, and a gleam of hope shone in her eyes.  

         "There might be someone…." Hermione said slowly.

         She got up and walked over to the Slytherin table.

         "What do you want, Mudblood?" Draco Malfoy asked.  Kylie shot him a look.  

         "Kylie, can I talk to you for a minute?  It's important," Hermione asked hurriedly, waving aside Malfoy's comment.

         Kylie gave Hermione a questioning look as she got up from her table and walked over to Hermione.

         "What's up?" Kylie asked, looking concerned.

         "You know how Harry's missing?" Kylie nodded.  Hermione went on.  "Well, me, Ron, Fred and George searched the whole school for him, and we couldn't find him."

         "You checked all the hidden rooms and secret passageways?" Kylie asked.

         Hermione nodded.  "Every one, and you know the Weasley twins, they know this school almost as well as Dumbledore himself."

         "Actually, I think there might have been a few people who know the school a little better than Dumbledore, but yeah anyway.  But what do you need me for?  I don't see how I can help," Kylie said confusedly.

         "Well, I was thinking about where I could find information about the school that wouldn't be out in the open.  I've searched about every book in the library for rooms and passages, but there's so much more not mentioned," Hermione said.

         "So, where do I come in?" Kylie asked.

         " There are books that tell about the school's secret's somewhere, there must be.  I already checked the restricted section of the library, and there was nothing.  I figured these books would be forbidden.  Kylie, you have a forbidden book.  You have Hogwarts, A History, edition eight," Hermione explained.

         "I get it.  So you want to borrow my book?" Kylie asked, smiling.

         "Well, yes.  Because it tells about secret stuff, right?  Things students today are not supposed to know about?" Hermione asked hopefully.

         Kylie nodded.  "Yeah, it's got loads of information about all over Hogwarts.  But there is one problem.  It's missing."

         "Missing? But that was my last hope!" Hermione said sounding exasperated.

         "Don't say it was your last hope, ever.  There are always exceptions.  But about the book, it just disappeared one day.  Couldn't find it anywhere," Kylie said, looking apologetic.

         "It's okay, Harry will probably turn up eventually…" Hermione said, sounding miserable.

         Just as Hermione started to walk away, Kylie remembered something.

         "Wait-Hermione!" Kylie said, and caught up to her.

         "What?" Hermione asked, looking very sad.

         "I just remembered.  The book may be missing, but there is one other thing I have that is not, and it may help."

         "What is it?" Hermione asked curiously.

         "I can't tell you right now.  There are too many people.  I really don't want word getting out about it, you know?  There are only two others besides mine.  So I'll tell you after dinner, all right?  Outside the Great Hall.  I'll bring it," Kylie promised.

         Hermione nodded.  Kylie smiled and walked away.

         "Oh, Kylie?" Hermione called after her.

         Kylie turned around.  "Yeah?"

         "Thanks."

         Kylie grinned and walked out of the Great Hall.

*       *       *       *

         It was early December and Hogwarts was decorating itself for the upcoming Christmas holidays.  Holly boughs were all over the place, real icicles glistened on the banisters, and several large Christmas trees adorned the Great Hall.

         Harry saw none of this, because he was still in the Atrium.  He had not eaten, but something about that hall fulfilled any hunger he'd had.  He barely slept.  It didn't get very dark in the Atrium.  There were no windows to let light in, but large candlesticks were in front of every portrait, and there were many of those.  Then there was the giant fireplace, in which a fire with violet flames was constantly burning.  

         Harry hadn't met the other Terces members yet.  He'd hoped he wouldn't have to, that someone would save him before that moment.  But no one had come.  It wasn't like Harry could blame any of them; it wasn't like anyone knew where he was, anyway.  

         Enna had just left for the night, and Harry was alone in a corner of the hall.  He leaned against the wall and sighed.  As he moved around a little, he heard a strange crumpling sound coming from his pocket.

         He reached into his pocket and drew out a piece of parchment.  It was an old, crinkly piece.  Harry couldn't believe his luck.  He'd thought he was trapped in the Atrium forever, but that all changed when he just happened to find the Marauder's Map.

         "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered to the parchment.  Immediately, ink started shooting over the parchment like a spider's web, and the final product was a detailed picture of Hogwarts.  Harry looked around the map for a little dot labeled 'Harry Potter' and eventually found it in the lower right hand corner of the map.  

         Harry had never seen this before.  There wasn't even a picture of where he was, just a dot labeled 'Harry Potter {off map}'.  Harry had to figure out a way to make the picture move so that he could see where he was.

         "Mischief leads me to the lower right hand corner of the map?" he tried.  Nothing moved.

         "Right?" Harry tried.  The picture moved to the right, showing part of some rooms he never knew existed.  

         "Down," Harry said.  The map moved downward, exposing more rooms, labeled 'Hogwarts Underground'.

         So he was under ground.  He'd been underground once before, when he was in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year.  But judging by the fact that Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was nowhere near the rooms above him now, he was on a completely different side of the castle.

         He looked around the map a little more to see if there was a way out.  There had to be one… _somewhere_.

         Harry spotted a tunnel that went straight to the Gryffindor common room, or the broom closet of it, from a large room that could be the Atrium.  Harry saw that it was to the west where his dot was.  The only thing was, he didn't know what direction he was facing.

         _"Point me,"_ Harry whispered to his wand.  His wand spun until it pointed straight ahead of him.

         Harry had used the Four-Point Charm, a charm that would make his wand point due north, which Hermione had taught him in his fourth year.

         Since he needed to go west, he turned to the left and looked for something that could lead to a tunnel.  He looked around for a little while before tilting his head up and coming face to face with a wolf portrait.

         "Of course," he whispered to himself.

         "Password," the wolf in the portrait growled at him.  Harry jumped a little at this, he hadn't expected the wolf to talk, let alone speak English.  

         "Er," Harry started.  He couldn't' think of anything that would be used to get out of where he was.  He tried random words associated with Gryffindor, but so far nothing had worked.  

         So for a while he stood in front of the wolf portrait, firing words at it, and kept waiting for one of them to work.

*       *       *       *

         "Now, what did you say this thing you had was?" Hermione asked Kylie outside the Great Hall.  Dinner had just ended.

         "Over here, we don't really want to be seen," Kylie said, directing Hermione behind a Christmas tree that loomed twenty feet over their heads.

         "Okay.  This is better," Kylie said.

         "Why don't you want people to see it?" Hermione asked, not knowing what 'it' was.

         "Well, I know you've already seen one, and used one, no doubt, but it's just not something people really need to know,' Kylie said.

         "I see.  So… what is it?" Hermione asked.

         Kylie pulled a piece of parchment out of her robes.

         "Do you know what this is?" she asked Hermione.

         Hermione just stared at it for a few minutes.  

         Kylie went on.  "You may not recognize it, all four were concealed differently.  I used a spell on mine to both prevent paper aging and repel water."  Kylie looked pleased with herself because of this.

         Kylie took out her wand, tapped it against the paper, and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

         Hermione gasped.

         "But, where did you get it?  There're _four_ of them?" Hermione asked in amazement.

         "Calm down, Hermione.  There originally were four, but there are only three now.  One was destroyed," Kylie said.

         "But, how?  And how'd you get one?" Hermione asked.

         "Well, the four makers, they each got one.  Harry has Prongs's, I have Padfoot's, and I imagine Voldemort has Wormtail's now.  Moony's was accidentally obliterated when he tore it up," Kylie explained.

         "If he tore it up, how was it accidental?" Hermione asked curiously.

         "It was during a full moon, and he got a little… out of hand, if you know what I mean," Kylie explained, giving Hermione a knowing look.

         "Oh!  But how did you get one, for the third time.  And how do you know all this?" Hermione asked.

         "I have connections, which is how I got the map, and how I know about the Marauders," Kylie said.

         Hermione nodded.  "So, where's Harry?" Hermione asked, peering down at the map.

         Kylie and Hermione scanned the map for a few seconds before Kylie pointed to the lower right-hand corner.  "There."

         "But it says 'off map'," Hermione said.

         "There are ways to see those parts you know.  Having spent a good deal of time with a Marauder myself, I hear things," Kylie said.

         "Down, right," she commanded the map.  The picture moved so that the southeast part of the castle was uncovered.

         "Hogwarts underground?  That's where Harry is?" Hermione asked.

         "I guess so.  But how did he get there, is what I want to know," Kylie said inquisitively.

         "He's standing still, not moving at all, which is odd.  He's probably looking west, since he's in a corner pointing west.  Hey, look!" Kylie said, pointing at something else.

         "It's a tunnel," Hermione said, looking at where Kylie was pointing.

         "It goes straight to the Gryffindor common room, the broom closet, actually," Hermione said Matter-of-factly.

         "Are you saying we should go there?" Kylie asked.

         "Yes, we could go through the tunnel, and find Harry and-" Hermione started.

         "Hmm, hmm," Kylie said, cutting her off.

         "What?" Hermione asked her.

         "There is one minor problem with us going from the Gryffindor common room," Kylie said.

         "I don't see any problem," Hermione said, sounding a little confused.

         "Uh, hi," Kylie said.

         Hermione stared at her for a few seconds then opened her mouth and said, "Oh, you' a Slytherin."

         "Right," Kylie said smiling.

         "But, you still have to come!  It's your map, we'll need it to see if Harry moves at all!" Hermione persisted.

         "Okay, but how will I get into your common room?" Kylie asked.

         "Er… hold on!  I have an idea… Okay, meet me outside the Great Hall in one hour, everything will be all set!  And don't forget the map!" Hermione promised, and then she ran off.

         "We really need communication therapy, no one can just tell people things anymore," Kylie said to herself.  "Mischief managed," she said to the map, which went blank.

*       *       *       *

         "Does it have anything to do with Gryffindor?" Harry asked the wolf.

         The wolf made no reply.  Harry had been talking to it for the past half hour, and it never answered his questions.

         "Er, Godric?" Harry guessed.

         The portrait stayed still.

         "Lions?" Harry guessed.

         The portrait swung open so fast Harry had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by it.

         "Lions?  Really? Well, I reckon that makes sense, wolves and lions, both animals, I guess," Harry said, he stepped into a very dark tunnel, and before he could even light his wand, the portrait began to swing behind him.  

         "Lumos," he said to his wand, and a light glowed from the tip.

         Harry started walking down the tunnel, taking maybe three paces before he heard something behind him.

         "What are you doing?" he heard Enna scream at him.  But the portrait closed before she could get in, and Harry ran for his life through the tunnel.

*       *       *       *

         "It's got to be here somewhere," Hermione said, rummaging through Harry's trunk.  

         "Aha!" she said, once she found the silvery cloak.

         She was just about to leave the boys' dormitory when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.  She quickly through the cloak over her and backed into a corner of the room.

         "Hello?" Neville asked, as he entered the room slowly.

         "Anybody in here?" he asked.

         He looked around suspiciously.

         "I could have sworn I heard someone up here…" he said.

         Hermione walked right past him and out of the door to the common room, where she took the cloak off quickly when she was sure no one was looking.

         Stuffing the shimmering fabric into her robes, she pushed open the portrait and walked to the Great Hall.

*       *       *       *

         "So what's this great plan you've got?" Kylie asked.  "I'm dying to know, you looked all excited, and then you just left."

         "Sorry about that.  Here," Hermione said, tossing the cloak to Kylie.

         "An invisibility cloak, very nice.  I hope it wasn't difficult to find in your room?" Kylie asked.

         "Harry's room, actually.  I almost got caught, but I had found it by then and just threw it over me," Hermione said.

         "I knew you were Hermione the Smart Girl, but I never knew you as Hermione the Mischief-Maker," Kylie said, grinning.

         Hermione gave her a look that was half happy, and half disapproving.  

         "You should have told me it was a cloak, though, because I could've just taken Draco's," Kylie explained.

         "He has one, too?" Hermione asked.

         "He's got tons of things for sneaking around the school, but he doesn't have the Marauder's Map," Kylie said, smirking and pulling the map out of her pocket.  

         "You lead, I'll put on the invisibility cloak and follow,' Kylie said.

         "Okay, but make sure you follow closely, especially when we get to the portrait hole,' Hermione instructed.  Kylie nodded and with one swish of the cloak, she disappeared.

         "Okay, this way," Hermione said, walking towards Gryffindor common room.  Kylie was singing under her breath the whole time, her way of letting Hermione know that she was still there.

         Once they had reached the Fat Lady, Kylie stopped singing.  

         "I'm still here," she whispered so that only Hermione could hear.

         "Password?" the Fat lady asked.

         "Dragon's eggs," Hermione said immediately.  

         The portrait swung open and Hermione walked in slowly, making sure to give Kylie enough space to squeeze by, too.  

         "I'm in,' Kylie whispered to Hermione once she passed through the hole.

         Hermione walked into the common room and found it to be quite crowded.

         "Kylie, wait here for one second, right _here_, don't move at all, I have to get something…" Hermione said.  She walked up to her dormitory and grabbed a dungbomb she'd taken from Ron.  She hurried down the stairs, tapped it with her wand, and threw it towards a big crowd of people.

         No one knew Hermione had thrown it.  There was an instant uproar when it exploded.  Hermione raced towards where Kylie had been and said, "Come on, Kylie!"

         The two girls hurried toward the broom closet and walked in.

         "You're in, Kylie?" Hermione asked.

         "Yeah," Kylie replied.

         "Lumos," Hermione said.

         "Kylie, take out the map, I want to see which side of the closet it's on-" Hermione started.

         The left wall slid into the side of the back wall, exposing a tunnel.

         Kylie stepped in, took the cloak off, and said, "I think it's in this wall."

         Hermione followed her, and the wall slid closed behind them.

         The two were walking for quite a time before they heard footsteps rushing towards them.  

         "Kylie- take out the map!' Hermione hissed.

         "It's Harry!' Kylie said, looking at the parchment.

         Sure enough, Harry came hurtling towards them, go back! Someone's coming!" he said, out of breath.  He stopped for a second, and then kept running.  Hermione and Kylie looked at each other for a minute.

         "Where are you going?" a voice from far down the tunnel echoed.

         "Okay, maybe we should listen to him now,' Kylie said, and ran to catch up with him.  She and Hermione were running, and when Kylie tripped, she saw a girl running behind her that was not Hermione.

         "Hermione?" Kylie asked.

         "Come on!" Hermione yelled from the beginning of the tunnel.  Apparently, Hermione had run past Kylie when she tripped.  

         Kylie got up and ran for the broom closet, getting through the sliding door just before it closed.  

         The three of them were leaning against the side of the broom closet, trying to catch their breaths.  

         "That was close," Kylie said, looking at Harry and Hermione.

         "Where are we?" Harry asked.

         "Broom closet of Gryffindor," Hermione explained.

         "Oh, okay," he said, panting.

         "I would like to know where the heck you were Harry, but I have this odd feeling that it's a long story, and I'm so tired, I just want to sleep right now," Kylie said, closing her eyes.

         Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then at Kylie.

         "Kylie?" Hermione said, tapping her friend's shoulder.

         "Come on Mom, it's a Saturday…" Kylie said in a sleepy voice.  Kylie opened her eyes and blinked a few times.

         "You," she said to Hermione," are not my mom.  Sorry about that, but I think I was explaining how tired I was.  So tired, in fact, that I forgot that my mom stopped waking me up a long time ago, and my other never woke me up, so I have to use some sort of alarm thing."

         Harry and Hermione stared at her for a few seconds.

         "Your 'other', did you say?" Harry asked, interested in what that meant.

         "Yes, it's an insanely long story, and I don't think this is a good time, really.  I got to go to bed," Kylie said.

         "I'll go out of the portrait hole with you, to, er, check for something," Hermione offered.  

         "Yeah, but then you gotta walk with me for a while, so that I can give your cloak back,' Kylie reminded her.

         Hermione nodded and they set off for the portrait hole.  It took them a while to get out of the closet, as they had to make sure no one was looking.  After a few minutes, though, the common room had cleared, and the three walked out of the closet.

         "I'm going to bed, see you guys later,' Harry said, and set off up the stairs.

         Hermione and Kylie walked to the Great Hall, where Kylie returned the cloak to Hermione, saluted, and walked towards the dungeons.

         Hermione couldn't' help wondering what Kylie had meant by her 'other'.  But, she decided, she didn't need to think about it now.  All the running had exhausted her.  It had been a very long night.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  Did you like?  I've been looking forward to this chapter for a while.  Tell me, what do you guys think abou the story now that it's this far into it?  Is it as good as you wanted it to be, because I can tell you, I've got plans, guys, plans.  This story is going to be getting a lot …better in the next few chapters.  And then there's Christmas!  Oh joy, 'tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la…

Words of Wisdom: "Sorry you can't define me, sorry I break the mold.  Sorry that I speak my mind; sorry don't do what I'm told.  Sorry if I don't fake it, sorry I come too real.  I will never hide what I really feel,"

~Christina Augilera, 'Stripped, Part I"

Thanx for the reviews, guys, keep 'em coming!

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	30. Universal Exhaustion

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer: I trust you all to trust me that I don't own anything here, except for the plot, a few characters here and there, and several random settings.  However, to avoid lawsuits, I shall again remind you all of… You know what?  I just forgot what I was gonna type, so just, yeah.  Just yeah.

Author's Note:  Hi guys!  I would have updated much sooner, but my monitor died.  My computer would go on, but the monitor stayed blank.  And before that the screen kept turning yellow.  Truth is that it was getting on in years.  My computer's fourth birthday was October third. But no worries, I got a new monitor.   I'm also responsible for the late update because of a case of severe writer's block.  Even writing school reports were tough.  

         Anyway, I regret to say that Christmas will not be until the next chapter.  I know that I drag things out unnecessarily, however I think it gives me more time to spend with my characters.  I seriously doubt that there will be a sequel to this story.  Not with the ending I've got planned.  But, I can't go telling you about the ending quite yet, can I?  You just wait, readers, you just wait…

Read.

Review.

Reconnaissance! 

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

         "I am quite sure, Potter, that I said to use besmathe at least twice.  Apparently twice will never be enough to penetrate your thick skull, because I see you've used bezmarye.  Although they may sound alike to your ears, which apparently do not work properly, they are very different elements," Severus Snape smiled smugly at Harry during Potions class.

         "In ten minutes time, Potter, this class will end.  I expect one bottle of the Draught of Devotion on my desk before that time is up," Snape said to Harry before going on to praise Malfoy.

         Harry stared into his cauldron for a minute.  He had just gotten back to Gryffindor tower the night before and Professor Snape was not making it easy for him at all.  Harry hadn't really expect that he'd make it easy, of course, but he was a bit annoyed as to how Snape seemed to be so much worse than usual.

         Harry continued to think about this for some time before he looked at his watch and saw that there were only two minutes of class left, surely not enough time to fix his potion.  Just as he was starting to think of how Snape would act when he gave Harry a detention for incomplete class work, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

         "Here," Kylie said, as she slipped him a bottle of a pink, shimmering liquid.

         "What is it?" Harry asked, looking at it.

         "It's the Draught of Devotion.  I heard what Snape said to you, and I'm pretty sure you weren't going to turn in a bottle of _that_," Kylie said, nodding toward Harry's cauldron, which was bubbling with a thick, grey liquid that looked nothing like the liquid in the bottle.

         "Thanks," Harry said.

         "No problem.  You might want to empty out your cauldron, though, before Snape sees that your potion is different from what's in the bottle," Kylie advised.

         Harry nodded and used a simple spell to empty the contents of his cauldron.

         When Harry put the potion on Snape's desk, he noticed the loathing look his professor was giving him.

*       *       *       *

         "How do you seem so awake?  You had a terribly long night," Hermione asked Harry at lunch that day.

         "I'm not sure myself," Harry said as he looked at the staff table.  Dumbledore smiled and winked at Harry.  Harry grinned back.

         "-And it's ever so strange the way you're so alert.  But I think it may have something to do with being back to a more welcoming environment, don't you agree, Harry?" Hermione asked.

         Harry nodded.  Honestly, he didn't get much of what Hermione was going on about, but he was just grateful that she hadn't asked too many questions about where he was.

         Still, he had had a very long night.  He didn't know what time he'd gotten out of the Atrium.  His watch was broken.  It was the watch he broke during the second task at last year's Triwizard Tournament.  He only wore it because he continuously forgot not to.  It was habit.

         "You okay?  You're not eating?" Ron asked Harry.  

         "I'm fine, just a little tired," Harry explained, and took a bite of his sandwich.

         'So you _are_ tired?" Hermione asked, looking a bit incredulous because of the fact that Harry had failed to mention this fact before she'd rambled on about his not being tired.

         Harry nodded.

         "I think all of us are tired," said a voice behind them.

         "Hi Kylie," said Harry without turning around.

         "Hi guys.  Sorry to interrupt you, but no one at my table could understand my exhaustion," Kylie said.

         Hermione gave her a strange look.  She quickly glanced at Harry and Ron with a confused expression, and then looked back at Kylie.

         "I know, I know.  I don't look tired.  But it's terrible how exhausted I am, I was even having time concentrating in Potions, and that's my second-best subject," Kylie explained.

         Hermione smiled sympathetically.  When people related things to schoolwork, she could always understand.

         "Well, I'd be tired too, if I'd been up all night freeing someone from, somewhere, that Harry doesn't really like talking about," Ron said between shoving forkfuls of his lunch into his mouth in a rather sloppy fashion.

         "Yeah.  What do you guys have next?  I don't think we're together fro anything this afternoon," Kylie asked the three.

         "I don't think we've got anything with Slytherins," Ron started to say.

         "No, we don't.  We've got Charms with the Ravenclaws and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs," Hermione said.  "I memorized the schedule."

         "For the _whole year_?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open.

         "Oh Ron, you'd be so much more organized and have more of your homework done if you knew when classes were," Hermione said in a suggesting voice.

         "I know the schedule for the week, but that's it.  My being tired is interfering with my memory.  Yes, Hermione's right.  I've got Defense Against the Dark Arts, but before that there's something else…" Kylie started.

         " Come on, Kylie, we have to be at Transfiguration in five minutes," Draco Malfoy drawled as he walked past the Gryffindor table flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

         "Transfiguration, that's it!" Kylie said.  "See you guys around!" she yelled before running out of the Great Hall.

*       *       *       *  
         "So, any plans for Christmas?" asked one voice in the Terces Atrium.

         "No, I think we should let them expect it and then watch them get prepared for something that won't happen.  Then we'll be able to enjoy the holiday," said a second.

         "Clever point, and we'll pick up on our plot after the New Year?" added a third voice.

         "Of course," answered the second voice.

         "Actually, I think we should maybe, oh I don't know, ring in the New Year with something a little more interesting?"  added the first voice.

         Then the fourth, last remaining voice asked, "Well, what did you have in mind?"

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  You guys, I'm sorry it's so short, but I'm just getting out of writer's block, and I can't come up with any more ideas that should be in this chapter.  But don't worry; work on chapter thirty will commence shortly.

I just had to upload this now, because I had to give you guys something.  You've all been excellent, waiting ever so patiently.

Words of Wisdom:  "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end,"

~Semisonic 'Closing Time'

Thanks for your reviews, keep 'em coming!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	31. Yuletidings

**The Fifth House**

Disclaimer:  I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books that seem even the vaguest form of familiar.  I do own a few characters, some places in the setting, and the plot, so I'm not completely without.

Author's Note:  Hey people!  You know that huge project with the ten pages and the 3D and the two posters and all that jazz I had to do that kept me insanely busy last year?  Well, I must do it again, but this time my topic's more interesting, so it should be easier to get done.  

Just thought y'all should know.  You know, next month will be TFH's first birthday?  That's on December 13. 

Read.

Review.

Revenue!  {Lol, Dark Mage]

Curtains Up!

**Chapter Thirty**

            "La cucaracha, la cucaracha, la la la la la la la la la…" Kylie sang in her dormitory.

            "You know that song is about a cockroach, I assume?" Draco Malfoy asked her.

            "Of course I do.  You can't just sing songs in foreign languages if you don't know the translation.  You could get yourself in deep trouble that way," Kylie said, giving her friend a knowing look.

            "Oh, I'm sure you've never done that," Draco said sarcastically.

            Kylie brought her hand to her heart and wore an expression of mock disbelief.  

            "So, remind me again why I'm standing here?" Draco asked.

            "As if you don't remember.  You're memory is selective, Draco, but it's not that bad," Kylie said, throwing a few books over her head.  Draco caught them.

            "Alright, can you at least tell me why you're pelting me with books?" Draco asked.

            "I'm not pelting, for heaven's sake.  Pelting would be this," she said and threw a book at him.  Right before it would hit him, she pulled out her wand and said "Accio!"

            "I scared you real good, didn't I?" Kylie asked, grinning.

            "Oh yes, because I was terribly frightened of being hit by a book thrown by you," Draco said rolling his eyes.  Kylie threw a book at him, this time she didn't summon it back.

            "Hey, that hurt!" Draco asked, rubbing his arm where it had hit.

            "Huh?  I did nothing!  Must have been my guardian wizard who threw that book at you," Kylie said blinking her eyes innocently.

            "I'm sure," Draco said.

            "I can always count on you to believe me, Draco,' Kylie said.

            "So, seriously, why am I here?" Draco asked honestly.

            "To keep me company while I'm looking for my book," Kylie said, not looking up from behind several stacks of books, each towering over her.

            "Not the same book you were looking for weeks ago?" Draco asked.

            "The very same one.  It never turned up.  I especially need it now for research, and I'd really like to find it before Christmas," Kylie said, tossing a few more books over the stacks.

            "By tomorrow, then?" Draco asked.

            "Tomorrow's Christmas?" Kylie said, looking alarmed.  She pushed two stacks of books over so that she could see Draco.

            "Well, you see Kylie, Christmas tends to be on the 25th of every year.  That's just the way it is,' Draco explained in a voice as if he were trying to explain something to a first year.

            "I can't be looking for books, I've got shopping to do!  Draco, today's a Hogsmeade day, right?" Kylie asked.

            "It just happens to be," Draco said.

            "Come on, you're going to be my shopping buddy," Kylie said, as she grabbed his arm and steered him out of the Slytherin rooms and through the castle.  Draco protested the whole way.

            "Shopping?  Of all things, Kylie, why do you inflict this upon me?" Draco asked.

            "Draco, it'll only be for an hour or so, not too long.  Plus, you don't have to do much.  You're supposed to have a buddy to go into Hogsmeade with so you don't get lost, and you were the first person to ask," Kylie said.

            "Ask?  You latched on to my arm.  And you don't really need to have someone with you, and you're a Slytherin, anyway, so it shouldn't matter,' Draco protested.

            "Well, I'm not as much a Slytherin as you are," Kylie asked.

            "Obviously you have some part Slytherin, because the Sorting Hat put you there," Draco said.

            "Yes, but it's more of a blood thing than anything else,' Kylie said hastily before turning into a bookstore.

            "Hi," Kylie said to the old witch behind the counter, " can you help me find the very thickest book you have?"

            "A blood thing?" Draco asked curiously.

            "Yes, well, my relatives were a bit darkly inclined," Kylie said quickly.  "Well, maybe just a little more than a bit, they were kind of obsessed with Voldemort's plans and all that.'

            "Really?  You never really talk about your family.  So, they're all like that?" Draco asked.

            The old witch returned with a book that was easily twelve inches thick, and Kylie paid for it.

            "Well, not all of them, just two of them, actually.  But one was so crazed it's almost like a whole family.  You want to help me with this?" Kylie said, struggling to carry the book.

            "Oh, sure," Draco said, taking the package from Kylie's hands.  'Thanks,' she said, straightening her back.

            "That's odd though, I never heard of any wizards by the name D'Alessandro, even the dark ones," Draco thought out loud.

            "Well, you wouldn't.  D'Alessandro is my grandmother's maiden name before she married my father's father.  That side of the family's okay," Kylie said.

            "Why do you have your grandmother's name?" Draco asked.

            "It was the only respectable name left that I could take.  All the others were trashed.  Some deserved it, some didn't.  Either way, it's okay," Kylie said, looking over a list in her hand.

            "Well, what were your parents' names?" Draco inquired, fully interested now.

            "I shouldn't really say their last names, very _very_ unrespectable, both.  But my mom's first name was Guiniviere, and I shouldn't say my dad's first name, it's too easy to make connections, but his middle name's Argo," Kylie said.

            "What could your family have done that is so bad you can't even say their names?" Draco asked.

            "You'd be surprised," Kylie said quietly while looking around darkly.

            "And I thought living with my name was tough," Draco said.

            "Yeah, well, at least I don't have to really live with any name other than my middle name," Kylie said.  She suddenly looked like she regretted saying this.  

            "What do you mean by that?" Draco asked.

            "Kylie is my middle name.  If I used my first name, it's be too easy to make connections," Kylie said, looking very pained.

            "What is it with you and connections?  Don't you have any self worth?  You never seemed to care what people think until now," Draco said.

            "My mom always told me that I'd be able to use my real name someday.  Not her maiden name, though, my grandfather's way too terrible.  But I'd like to use my father's name.  His is only hated because of some other guy.  He never did anything wrong," Kylie said.

            Kylie started walking very suddenly towards Zonko's Joke Shop.  She didn't speak much.  She bought two bags worth of merchandise and left, Draco following her out of the shop.  

            "I suppose you'd like it if I stopped asking you about your family now?" Draco asked, quickening his stride to catch up with her.

            Kylie whirled around so quickly that Draco walked into her.  "That would be very nice, thank you very much."

            She then turned and proceeded walking into Honeydukes where she bought bags full of candy and sweets.  After, she went to several other stores, Draco following closely.

            "Sorry," she said to him randomly after leaving one store.

            "For what?" Draco asked confusedly.

            "For snapping at you.  It's just that talking about my family puts me in a bad mood.  And it's even worse since it's Christmas," she said.

            "I know what you're talking about.  My family can't be too much better,' Draco said.

            "Well…" Kylie started.

            "Hi Kylie!" said a voice behind her.

            Kylie spun around.  "Hi Hermione!"

            "I didn't think anyone else would be here today, being so close to Christmas.  I wouldn't be here if I hadn't forgotten to buy a present for my dad.  I'd much rather be studying for that potions test we're having once the term starts again," Hermione said.

            "Yes, because that's a better use for your time, is it?" Draco asked her icily.

            "Just because you pass potions because you're Snape's favorite, Malfoy, doesn't mean other people don't feel the need to study," Hermione said in a very authoritive tone.

            "You guys, please stop,' Kylie asked them.

            "Sorry, Kylie.  I've really got to go, homework to do.  So I'll see you around," Hermione said before walking off.

            "You have got to stop fighting with them, Draco!  Don't make me make you and Hermione shake hands!" Kylie threatened.

            "You've already made me shake Potter's hand, isn't that enough?" Draco asked; sounding very annoyed.

            "It's only enough as long as you stop fighting.  I had to _run_ from you that time, just because I took a picture," Kylie said, rolling her eyes.

            "Yes, well I never caught up with you.  You fainted in some desolate corridor," Draco said.

            "Hey, that was scary!  You'd be freaked out too, if you saw some headmaster's portrait with blood spattered on it!" Kylie said.

            He looked at her quickly.  "What, are you going to try to find out who did it?  Going to play detective, Kylie?" Draco asked.

            Kylie walked away towards a beauty store.  "Hey, Draco!  I should get a book with hair spells in it, then we could dye our hair together!"

            Draco gave her a disgusted look.  "Someone, please, hex me.  Hex me right now and spare me the misery."

            Kylie laughed.  "Come on, Draco! I was _kidding_.  I know guys are too strong to admit their hair secrets."

            "I wasn't kidding about that hex," Draco called into the crowded street.

            "Oh, honestly, Draco, lighten up.  It's Christmas!"

*          *          *          *

            "Harry! HARRY! Wake up!" Ron yelled at Harry on the morning of December the 25th.

            "What?" Harry asked sleepily, trying to find his glasses.

            "It's Christmas, and you've got about twelve presents, look!" Ron pointed to a small pile of wrapped gifts at the foot of Harry's bed.

            "Yeah, I'm up," Harry said.

            "I was going to open the present from mum first.  To get it over with, you know.  I opened the letter she sent, and she said to wait for you to wake up to open the presents from her," Ron said very quickly.

            "So you yelled in my ear?" Harry asked.

            Ron's ears turned slightly pink.

            "It's okay," Harry said.  Ron grinned.

            Harry unwrapped Mrs. Weasley present to find the usual emerald green sweater and a tin of some sort of homemade candy that Harry liked, even though he wasn't sure what it was called.

            Ron gave him a giant box of sugar quills, which made Harry very happy, especially since his classes seemed to be longer and more boring every day.  The quills would give him at least something sweet to eat during them.

            Hermione gave him and Ron books called _500 Ways to Organize Your Time by Dinner,_ by Cecely Capistrano.  Hermione mentioned in her card that hopefully, it would help them learn to do their homework before five minutes prior to when it's due.

            Hagrid had whittled wooden figures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione that were just barely recognizable.  Somehow he'd managed to bewitch them so that they walked, and even talked in tiny, high-pitched voices.  Harry found it very entertaining to watch wooden Hermione yell at wooden Ron about his potions essay.

            Sirius sent him a gift that Harry was sure would have been very handy when he was trapped in the Terces Atrium.  It was a small, charcoal grey ball.  Sirius's letter said that it was an Escapemaker.  To be used, he told Harry to throw it against a wall, which would make the wall eat away at itself until there was a hole that you could escape through.

            "Hey, this is really cool!" Ron said, holding a small red box and looking inside.

            "What is it?" Harry asked him.

            "It's a, it's a… Er, I don't rightly know…" Ron said.

            Harry walked over to Ron's bed and looked at the object in the red box.  

            It looked like some sort of mask.  Harry could tell that it would cover the person who wore its entire face.  It was very strange, though, because it was clear, and would not hide the wearer's face at all.  

            "Try it," Harry told Ron.

            Ron reluctantly took the mask out of the box and tied it around the back of his head.  Harry wouldn't have been able to tell that Ron was wearing a mask if he hadn't seen him put it on.

            "What's this thing do?" Ron asked right before pressing a tiny purple spot on the side of the mask.

            "Well?" Harry asked, looking at his friend expectantly.

            "Nothing,' Ron said.  "This is really kind of weird.  Here, try it."

            Harry put on the mask.  Out of curiosity, he pressed the purple spot on the side of the mask.

            What he saw seemed surreal.  He saw himself looking at the mask with a look as if he were waiting for something.  He was confused until something clicked in his head…

            "Ron, this is like a camera!  It records what the person wearing it is seeing when they press that purple circle, and when they take it off, it stops.  When they put the mask on, or when anyone else does, and they press the purple circle, it plays what it recorded.  It's like a muggle camera, only magical,' Harry said.

            Ron looked excited and relieved.  "That's really awesome, better than I thought, really."

            "Who's it from?" Harry asked, taking off the mask and putting it in the red velvet box.

            Ron looked at the small card attached to the box.  "It's from Kylie," he said.

            "You guys! Look at this!" Hermione ran into the boys' dormitory holding a gigantic book.

            "Could you have gotten a bigger book, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at her incredulously.

            "Kylie sent it.  She said it was the thickest, very biggest book she could find.  And it looks so _interesting_!" Hermione was saying very quickly.

            "Hey, Harry didn't get anything from Kylie,' Ron said, furrowing his brow in concentration.  "I wonder what happened."

            "Oh, I'm sure she sent him something.  She must have, you're just not looking well enough!" Hermione said.

            After a few minutes, Harry declared that there was no present from Kylie.

            "None anywhere," he said a little sadly.

            "That's because _that_ present must be from her," Hermione said, pointing to a box that was clamped in the talons of a rather large owl that was looking straight at Harry.

*          *          *          *

            "AHHHH!" 

            Kylie woke up to the sound of one of the girls in her dorm screaming.

            "What? What is it?" Kylie asked, suddenly seeming very awake.

            "Millicent, it was you?  You woke me up this early?  You must have a death wish…" Pansy Parkinson said threateningly to Millicent Bulstrode.

            Kylie looked between the two girls, a confused expression on her face.

            Pansy turned to Kylie.  'Sorry, but Millicent here thought it'd be a good idea to jump on me to wake me up," she said.

            "Okay,' Kylie said.  She looked a little perplexed, but just shrugged.

            "How are you so awake?  You never seemed like a morning person,' Millicent asked Kylie.

            "I'm not, I just act like I am," Kylie answered.

            "Oh, all right then…" said Pansy, giving a strange look to Millicent.

            Kylie knew that the two girls were just waiting for her to leave.

            "I'm going to go open my presents now.  See you guys later,' Kylie said as she got out of her bed and walked into the Slytherin common room.

            "Hey Draco," Kylie said, sitting down in a cold leather chair in front of the fireplace.

            "Hey," he said, not looking up as he looked through a book.

            "What'd you get?" Kylie asked curiously, wondering what book could get Draco that absorbed.

            "Huh?  Oh, my cousin sent it," Draco said, showing the cover to Kylie.

            "_Easy, Long-lasting Jinxes to be Done Anonymously_.  So, you'll be able to jinx people without anyone knowing it was you?" Kylie asked, looking a bit confused.

            "Exactly," Draco sad, smiling smugly.

            "But, if they're jinxes, like spells with a wand, people will see you pointing your wand, won't they?" Kylie asked.

            "No, it says there's some way around it.  It doesn't exactly say what it _is_, though,' Draco said, leafing through the pages.

            "Sounds really great," Kylie said sarcastically.  She slid off the chair and sat next to her presents.

            "You know, the Gryffindors wake up with their presents on the end of their beds," Kylie said.

            "And?" 

            "Well, we don't.  They make us walk all the way down here.  I wonder why?" Kylie thought out loud as she unwrapped a small box.

            "Probably something the four founders did," Draco asked, only half-listening.

            "Hey, what's this?" Kylie asked.  She looked at a large, purple-wrapped box.  She opened it and gasped.  

            "What?" Draco asked, looking up from his book.

            "My book," Kylie said, taking a leather-bound, black book out of the box.

            "Wait, the one you lost?  You lost it, and someone found it, and then gave it to you as a present?" Draco asked.

            Kylie nodded. "Or someone took it."

            "Cheap way of giving someone a gift," Draco said.

            Kylie raised her eyebrows at him.  

            She opened the book.  'Oh my…" she started to say.  She took a piece of paper out of the book.

            "What now?" Draco asked.

            Kylie didn't answer, but continued to look at the paper.

            "Oh, give me that," Draco said, leaning over and grabbing the paper from her.  

            He read the paper and looked confused.

            It said:

Thank you Cassie.

            "Cassie?" Draco asked.

            Kylie nodded.

            "So, you're freaking out because someone forgot you were Kylie?" Draco asked, looking thoroughly puzzled.

            "No," Kylie said.  "I'm freaking out because they knew I wasn't."

            "Does that mean…?" Draco started to ask.  A few things had started to click into place in his head.

            Kylie flipped to a page very quickly all of a sudden.

            "I was right," she said, looking like she just discovered something of incredible importance, and at the same time looked mildly terrified.  

            "Okay, I'm not going to ask," Draco said, choosing not to be interested in what Kylie was saying.

            "I've got to get this to Harry," Kylie said to herself.

            "Okay, now I'm asking.  What to you have to tell Potter?" Draco asked.

            "You said you wouldn't ask,' Kylie said.

            She got up very quickly and started running out of the common room.   

            "Where are you going?" Draco called after her.

            ""The Owlery, I'll be back in ten minutes," Kylie shouted back before pushing the door open and disappearing through it.

*          *          *          *

            "Well, get it,' Hermione told Harry.

            "I don't think it likes me,' Harry said.  The owl appeared to be glaring at him.

            "Oh, I'll get it then, if you're so scared,' Hermione said.  She gently eased the box out of the owl's talons, gave it a pat on the head, and it flew away.

            She turned around and faced Harry.  "I honestly don't know why you're so scared.  It's just Aero," Hermione said.

            "Aero?" Ron asked.

            "Kylie's owl.  That's how I knew it was from her,' Hermione said wisely.

            Harry opened the box and saw a book.  

            "Wow!  _Hogwarts, a History_, edition eight!" Hermione asked.

            "Isn't that banned?" Ron asked.

            "Yeah, it contains controversial stuff students aren't supposed to know or something," Harry said.

            He opened the book and saw a note that had been scribbled, obviously very quickly, in Kylie's handwriting.

Sorry I got this to you late.  I think you'll find it useful.  Harry, read pages 174-175 ALONE.  Don't let anyone read it, or it'll be absolute chaos.

          ~Kylie

            "What's it say?" Ron asked curiously.

            "Uh, just that she was sorry she sent it late," Harry fibbed.

            Harry felt bad lying to his best friends, but from the way Kylie had written it, it seemed too valuable not to.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  That chapter took me three nights to write.  I knew all I had to say in this chapter, but getting it into words was a project and a half.  

Words of Wisdom: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,"

            ~Dory, from _Finding Nemo_

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	32. The First Mistake of Terces

The Fifth House

Disclaimer:  I don not own Harry Potter, or anything from the books.  J.K. Rowling owns all that fun stuff.  Believe me, the minute I own something that gets that much attention, y'all will know.

Author's Note:  I was thinking yesterday, you guys.  Thank you so much for reviewing my story.  It seriously means so much to me that you took the time.  And the coolest thing is that you guys are so positive, and really supportive, too.  Thanx!

Read.

Review.

Royalty! [I just took a millisecond to look that up]

Curtains up!

Chapter Thirty-One 

            "Come on, Hermione," Ron pleaded.

            "No, I've got homework.  We only have one week before term starts again, you know," Hermione said, sounding very distracted as she wrote.

            "But this is holiday time.  Free time to do virtually anything but homework," Ron persisted.

            "That's not exactly true," Hermione said. She flipped a few pages in her book.

            "Just a short little snowball fight.  It'll be no fun, just me and Harry.  One on one is never as good," Ron said.

            Hermione looked up.  "No, Ron.  I'm sorry, but I want to finish this essay for Professor Flitwick."

            "Then what?" Ron asked.

            "I thought I'd go to the library," Hermione said.

            "You'll never change Hermione.  Come on, Harry.  Let's go have fun doing something outside, while getting fresh air and using up our last few years of childhood,' Ron said.

            "You're fifteen, Ron.  That's technically above childhood," Hermione said.

            "But you never stop having your inner child," Ron countered.

            "Then you don't really have last few years of it, do you?" Hermione said, looking up from her parchment.

            Ron scowled.  "Come on, Harry, let's go exercise our inner children," he said, turning and starting to walk out of the common room.

            "Good bye Ron.  Bye, Harry,' Hermione said, turning back to her work and becoming consumed in it once more.

*          *            *            *

            "_Destructo!_" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at a snowball.

            "Hey, that was a perfectly good snowball!" Ron complained.

            "Yeah, well, I didn't have much time to duck,' Harry explained.

            "So what?  The point of a snowball fight is to get hit!' Ron said.

            Harry quickly brought a hand in front of him and threw a snowball that hit Ron directly in the face.  "I know," he said, and grinned.

            "You're gonna pay for that!' Ron said, laughing and running after Harry, continuously throwing snowballs at him.

            "You've got to slow down, it's not fair!' Ron said after he'd missed Harry seven times.

            Ron stopped and looked around for a few seconds.  He couldn't see Harry anywhere.

            Then there was a sound from behind Ron, who turned around and blindly threw a snowball at whatever was there.

            "Hey, no fair! I totally wasn't ready!" said the person who Ron's snowball had hit.

            "Oh, sorry, Kylie,' Ron said, his ears turning slightly pink.

            Kylie was lying flat on her back with her arms and legs spread out.

            "Ron, you've killed me!  That hurts, man.  That really hurt, right here," Kylie said, as she dramatically brought her fist to her heart.

            "Er, sorry?" Ron said, his ears getting redder.

            "Here lies the tragic Kylie D'Alessandro, age fifteen.  Born August 1st, 1980, died December 31, 1995, due to a hit from a rogue snowball" Kylie narrated.

            "Don't you mean Cassie?" said a drawling voice.

            "What's that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" Ron asked the platinum-haired, pointed-faced boy who had joined the conversation.

            "It means nothing, Ron.  He's just being silly," Kylie said, getting up and dusting off the snow that contrasted her black robes.

            Ron looked confused.

            "Sorry we can't stay longer, I know Draco would love to have a nice, long conversation with you, but we have to be going," Kylie said, pulling the other Slytherin with her as she walked away.

            "What, you don't want anyone else to know you're name?" Draco asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

            "I've told you, connections.  And Cassie is just a nickname, anyway," Kylie said in a huff.  "Only my parents called me that.'

            "Your mother, you mean?" Draco said.

            "No, my dad called me Cassie in his letters," Kylie said, sounding a bit annoyed.

            "But never in person," Draco added.

            "Of the two times I've talked to him in person, he called me that.  Will you just drop it?" Kylie said, sounding very peeved at Draco's persistence. 

            "Okay, sorry," Draco said, backing off for a few seconds, and then walking back over.

            "You are such a Slytherin sometimes,' Kylie remarked.

            "You're a Slytherin, too,' Draco said.

            "But for no good reason!  I was born; therefore I'm in Slytherin.  I'd work much better in any other house!" Kylie said very loudly, loud enough that several owls resting in a nearby tree took flight.

            "So, you could be in any house?" Draco said, sounding quiet and as if he just solved something.

            "What do you think?" Kylie said before walking away.

            Draco followed, looking slightly worried.

*          *            *            *

            "It's been too long,' said Reelle.

            "Far too long," agreed Sammen.

            Four people were in the Atrium.  The four founders of Terces were together several hours before midnight on the final day of the year.  They were making preparations for later in the night, when Brann, Skully, Ren, and Strella would arrive.  

            "Plikttro," Reelle started to say.  She was holding a glass and swishing around the almond colored, shimmering liquid in it.  

            "Yeah?" he said, turning to her.

            "What did you put in this potion?" she asked, holding the glass up to the light to get a better look at it.

            "Oh, he probably put something in it," Sammen said, laughing a little.

            "I did not," Plikttro said. Reelle gave him a look.  "I did not put in anything of great danger."

            Reelle rolled her eyes and set her glass down.  

            "Told you so,' Sammen said, stifling more laughter.

            Reelle looked at him with a straight face for one minute, then she couldn't' control it any longer.  She cracked up laughing.

Only one person was not involved in the conversation.

            Enna sat a short distance away from the others, staring at the swirling, opalescent ceiling and thinking very hard.

            Someone tapped her shoulder.  'Hey, what's wrong?" a friendly voice asked.

            Enna looked up into Reelle's dark grey eyes.  

            "Nothing." Enna said blandly.

            "See, if you had elaborated a little, I might have left you alone, as I suspect you want to be.  But since you resorted to a one word answer, it means that you're lying," Reelle said.

            "It's mildly intimidating how you know things about people," Enna said, looking at the floor.

            "Yes, well it's also highly annoying.  You can't trust people if you know everything about them, since no one is completely trustworthy," Reelle said.

            Enna looked slightly confused at this.

            Reelle laughed at her expression.  "But that's not important now.  What's wrong with you?" she said.

            "Nothing, really," Enna said, looking the other way.

            "Two word answers aren't that much better.  Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Reelle said.

            "Yes," Enna said firmly, looked straight at Reelle.

            Reelle gave her a look.  It was hard to identify her emotion, but it seemed to Enna she was thinking about many things at once.

            "Denial,' Reelle stated after looking at Enna for a few moments.

            "I said yes.  Denial is when you say no,' Enna said.

            "Not always.  You're saying that there is nothing wrong, correct?' Reelle asked.

            "Yes…"

            "But there, of course, is?"

            "Well, yes…"

            "Therefore, you are in denial,' Reelle said, grinning.

            Enna rolled her eyes and started walking away.

            "Okay, so what is the matter?" Reelle said, walking backwards so that she could see Enna, who wouldn't' stop walking to talk.

            "Stairs," Enna said, her face looking blank.

            "Stairs?" asked Reelle looking thoroughly confused.

            Reelle then crashed backwards into the banister of the grand staircase that led up to the library.

            "Oh,' she said, getting up.  'You meant _these_ stairs."

            "It just seems like we're going to do something wrong,' Enna said, looking directly into her ally's eyes.

            "Why? We haven't had difficulties yet?" Reelle said, getting up.

            "Harry Potter is a difficulty.  The other three aren't any better," Enna said.

            "Yes, but we've come to power before, and it was fine," Reelle said, trying to make Enna feel better.

            "There was no one working against us then," Enna said looking very concerned.

            "That's true.  But Enna, we've got powers no one else in this school has.  We can do this, no problem,' Reelle said, looking genuinely concerned, although she wasn't truly.

            This was because Terces sodalises were a very odd type of people.  They were only united by lack of unity.  They were allies, but not friends.

            "You can't be so sure,' Enna said. She looked at the ceiling again.

            "I may not be academically brilliant.  I'm not brave or loyal.  I'm not cunning.  But I am very sure that we can do this.  Anyway, if I was any of those other things, it would just cloud my thoughts," Reelle said.

            "I suppose it'll probably be alright."

            "That's more like it.  Now come on, the others should be arriving right about, now,' Reelle said.  One moment later, the other four sodalises appeared in the Atrium.

            "Like I said, intimidating,' Enna said.

            Reelle grinned.

            The two girls walked to the others.

            "Why are you so nervous?" Reelle asked Ren.

            "How did you know?" Ren asked.

            "Oh, Reelle's got some sort of people-power thing going on.  Very odd," Plikttro said.

            "Try not to be intimidated," Enna added.

            "Don't let it bother you… too much,' Sammen said looking slightly amused

            "What they said," Reelle said.

            Brann, Strella, Ren, and Skully looked very intimidated, to say the least.

            "Anyway, we've got some work to do.  So, Brann, did you remember your book?" Enna asked.

            Brann nodded.

            "Good.  And your wand, Skjulte?" Enna asked a scared looking boy.

            Skully nodded.

            "Excellent.  So, we have everything?" Enna asked expectantly.

            Everyone nodded.

            "So we're good so far,' Enna said.

            The eight sodalises worked silently and efficiently for the next fifty minutes, until there were ten minutes left until midnight.

            They were very quiet for the last few minutes of the year.  At last, Enna looked at all of them and said, "It's time."

            A few incantations and rituals later, the eight Terces members were going to bed.  Enna in particular slept very soundly, relieved that everything had gone right.

Not one of them knew that Terces had made its first mistake.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  Good chapter?  Terrible chapter?  Boring?  Interesting?  Confusing?  Please tell me!

Words of Wisdom:  "Light travels faster than sound. This is why people seem bright until you hear them speak,"

~Unknown {a special thanx goes out to La La Land for suggesting these and other Words of Wisdom!}

Please Review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

~Starry


	33. Cassiopeia

The Fifth House

****

Disclaimer:  I waste so much time saying I don't own Harry Potter or Hogwarts or all that jazz.  Really, I do, and it's crazy.  But since it keeps Them happy…

Author's Note: Hello people!  I just posted a few days ago, but I got the inspiration to write again.  So here I am.  I think fanfiction is plotting against me, because last time I updated, the fic didn't even come up on the Harry Potter page.  I was very sad.  

Anyway!  It's a new chapter now.  I'm moving on.  And, it's the birthday/one-year anniversary of this story today**! ***Throws confetti in the air*

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Reimburse!  {I'm not sure what that means, though}

Curtains Up!

Chapter Thirty-Two 

****

            "It was a small matter of time," Sammen explained to four very confused sodalises.

            Enna was sitting a few feet away, her head in her hands.

            Plikttro and Reelle looked very solemn.

            An emergency meeting of Terces had been called on the first of January.  It was due to the fact that they had made a mistake during the ceremonies the previous might.

            "So, we didn't give it enough time?" asked a confused Ren.

            "Sort of, we didn't have enough time to make sure everything was correct.  We rushed it, and now we've got to face the consequences," Sammen explained, looking very serious.

            "But what _are_ the consequences?" Brann asked.

            "And what part did we rush?" Strella asked.

            "Will anything _really_ bad happen to us?" asked Skully.

            "We can only answer one question at a time!" Sammen said.  "And it looks like I'm going to be the one answering," he added as an afterthought, looking around at Reelle, Plikttro, and Enna's glum expressions.

            "First of all, we rushed the Concealment Charm.  As you know, that's the charm that keeps anyone else from knowing that the particular incantations and spells we used were, indeed, used on school grounds.  There are several ways of finding out any magic that has been performed within a certain area.  They are immensely difficult; however still possible.  We have used them on several occasions," Sammen started.

            "So about the consequences…" Brann hinted.

            "Patience, Bortkommen.  That will be explained in good time," said Plikttro, sounding rather irritated.

            "To answer your question, Skully, we cannot be certain whether or not anything bad will come of this.  Only time will tell.  And Brann, to answer your question, there are several possible consequences," Sammen said.

            "First, because of the poor Concealment Charm, information about us could leak to the school.  This in itself could have added penalties.  Second, we know for a fact that there are forces working against us.  They could get hold of information about our plans and what our attempts were," Sammen explained.

            "And our work?  Will it have any effect at all?" Strella asked.

            "Yes, but it's more risky because of our mistake," Reelle said, looking slightly worried.

            For a few moments the eight members of Terces looked at each other, not saying a word.

*          *            *            *

            "It's the oddest thing," Ron said to Harry at breakfast.

            "What is?" Harry asked.

            "Didn't you notice, mate?  The fireplace in the common room wasn't being used," Ron said.  "There was no fire in it."

            "So?" Harry asked.  'It was cold, and…?"

            Ron looked at Harry very strangely.  "It means that a House Elf didn't light it."

            "It's possible, Ron, that it's because they want better working conditions, and are trying to make a point,' Hermione said pointedly.

            "Hermione, really.  Dumbledore is plenty good to them," Ron said.

            Hermione gave Ron a look of annoyance.  "That doesn't mean they don't want better.'

            "You know, Hermione," Harry said.  "I have to agree with him, because Dumbledore would give them better conditions of they wanted them.  And how many times have we been to the kitchens?  The House Elves seemed quite pleased to me."

            "Well, then you try to explain the lack of fire," Hermione said.

            "Er, well…" Harry started.  Hermione gave him a look that said, 'I told you so.'

            "Is this bad timing?" Kylie asked as she walked up to the Gryffindor table.

            "No, we were just finishing a discussion about House Elves," Hermione explained, smiling smugly.

            "Yeah, it's quite odd, isn't it?  They seem to be rebelling, don't they, not lighting fires," Kylie mused.

            "Slytherin, too?" Hermione asked, looking surprised.

            "Every house," Kylie said, motioning to the different tables, "hasn't had a fire in their common rooms since yesterday afternoon.  None of the other fireplaces have, either," Kylie explained.

            "Really?" asked Hermione, her eyebrows considerably arched.

            'Yep,' Kylie said, nodding.

            "But they've been cooking,' Ron said, looking at all of the food on the table.

            There was toast, pancakes, oatmeal, muffins, other assorted baked goods and breakfast pastries, and large bowls of fruit.

            "You didn't notice?  All of this is the same thing we had yesterday morning.  I expect lunch and dinner will be the same, too.  Not like many people will notice, since there are only about thirty people here over the holidays,' Kylie said.

            "So something must have happened overnight, then,' Harry said to himself.  His voice, however, had been loud enough for Kylie to hear.

            "That's the rumor.  What a way to ring in a new year, with a rebellion.  That's different," Kylie said, looking retrospective.

            "Hey, Harry, have you read anything in that book yet?' Kylie asked.

            Harry was wondering what book she was talking about for a moment before he remembered _Hogwarts, a History: Eighth Edition_.  

            "Oh, er, no, I haven't really got the chance."

            Kylie nodded.  "There's some interesting stuff in there.  Even if you don't like reading too much, it's still interesting."

            Harry remembered her note that had been enclosed telling him to read several pages alone.  He felt badly about not getting to it sooner.

            "I'll probably start it today," Harry said, not sure if it was true.

            Kylie shrugged,  "All right.  Just remember to read that section I told you about, you know?" she said.          

            Harry nodded.  "I probably should have read it sooner…" he started.

            "No worries.  I've gotta go now.  I don't know about you guys, but Professor McGonagall assigned the Slytherins this massive essay on transfiguring humans into inanimate objects," Kylie said.

            "No, she didn't give us any homework, actually," said Hermione.

            "Maybe your class behaved then.  Honestly, I think we only got it because Draco tried to turn Pansy Parkinson into a picture frame," Kylie said, wondering out loud.

            "Did it work?" Ron asked amusedly.

            "Ron!  That's against the rules; you shouldn't sound happy at all.  Still, she is a Slytherin…" Hermione said, weighing both sides of the situation out loud.

            "And a very mean, conceited Slytherin as well," Ron added.

            "Well, she was a frame, but her face was in the picture," Kylie answered.

            Harry laughed.

            "I've got to go work on that essay now, though, because it'll take me hours.  Six pages of parchment," Kylie said before running off.

            "But about the House Elves, that's really very, very strange of them, I wonder what Dumbledore thinks…" Hermione said.

            "Hermione," Ron said.  "I thought you told Kylie we were ending our conversation about House Elves."

*          *            *            *

            "Hey, Kylie, come here for a minute," Draco called across the library.

            "This better be quick, Draco, I've only got one and a half pages done for McGonagall," Kylie said while she was walking over.

            "It will be,' Draco assured her.

            "Yeah?" Kylie asked once she got to the table he was sitting at.

            "I was just doing my Astronomy homework, you know how I take the advanced class, and I was looking at some of the constellation names, when I found _this_,' Draco said, sliding a book around and pointing to name of the names.

            "Yes, it says Draco is the name of the dragon-shaped constellation, and then it gives a brief history, which from the looks of it doesn't appear to be all that brief," Kylie said.

            "No, I meant the one _there.  _Not my name, your name," Draco said, pointing to a name several spots above where he had originally pointed.

            "That's kind of far off, Draco.  Okay, lets see.  Oh,' Kylie said, looking at the name he was pointing to.  She looked quickly at Draco, then looked back at where the book said:

_Cassiopeia._

Curtains Close!

Author's Note:  So, who can figure that out?  It shouldn't be that hard.  If it is, I'm really sorry.  It seems freakishly easy to me because I'm writing the story.

Words of Wisdom: "For all that has been, thanks.  For all that will be, yes,"

~Dag Hammarskiold

Please Review!

I love you all! *Blows kisses to reviewers*

Ciao!

~Starry


	34. The End of the Beginning

The Fifth House

****

Disclaimer:  I don't own Harry Potter or anything familiar from the books, and I'm not making any money off of this story.

Author's Note:  Hi people!  This is my first day of Christmas break, and I'll have two and a half weeks to update, which I'll try to do more often.  It'll be a New Year's resolution, I promise.   Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and happy anything else I left out.  And happy New Year, too, although it's probable that I'll update again before then.  

Read.

Review.

Relic!  {I'm not sure what this is, but it does start with an R.  Remember, R word suggestions are always appreciated and often used.  Hint, hint.}

Curtains up!

Chapter Thirty-Three 

****

            "Really, Kylie, I knew you said your father was on the wrong side of some people, but I didn't think it was this bad," Draco said.

            "I told you my family had problems, I did," Kylie insisted.

            "Yes, but being related to _them_?  The Blacks?  That's not just a minor problem, Kylie, it isn't," Draco continued.

            "I never said it was minor!  You know about one side of my family, but the other side, my mother's side, has the people that are really bad.  And my father didn't do anything!" Kylie said, glaring at Draco.

            Draco looked at Kylie for a minute.  "I believe you.  But the problem is that a very select few think the same.  There are only about ten in the school…" Draco said.

            "Really?  That many people believe it?" Kylie asked, looking surprised.

            "Yeah, because there's Dumbledore, and then there's Potter, Granger, the Weasleys, and a few teachers, and that's about it," Draco said, counting with his fingers.

            "Which teachers?" Kylie asked.

            "McGonagall does, I think Snape's come around since last year, and sources say Madame Pomfrey does, though I'm not sure," Draco explained.

            "Then outside of school there's my family, the rest of the Weasleys, I assume, and then a few others," Kylie said.

            "And then for the people that think he's completely guilty and should be thrown back in Azkaban as soon as he's found," Draco started to say, but Kylie finished for him.

            "There's everyone else in the world," she finished.

            "Exactly."

            "So I'm not as alone as I thought, then," Kylie said.

            "I guess not," Draco said.

            "Definitely not," said another voice behind them.  They turned to see who it was.

            "Oh," Kylie started to say, "Hello, Professor Dumbledore."

*          *            *            *

"It really makes absolutely no sense at all," Hermione said.

            "What makes absolutely no sense at all?" Ron asked.

            "The house elves, I just can't figure it out," Hermione continued.

            "That's a first," Ron muttered under his breath.  Hermione shot him a weak glare.

            "Maybe Dumbledore gave them a few days off,' Harry suggested.  He didn't feel that this statement could be true; he just wanted to avoid conflict between his two friends.

            "Harry, the castle is a mess!  Surely Dumbledore would have figured this would happen before giving them time off?" Hermione said.  Harry admitted that yes, this did make sense.

            "Hermione, the only thing I can say is that it most likely was not because of _spew_ that this happened," Ron said, and got up to go to his and Harry's dorm.

            "It's S.P.E.W.!" Hermione called after him.

            "He's right, though," Hermione said to Harry after Ron was out of earshot.  

            "Hey, Harry!  There's a package on your bed!" Ron called from the top of the spiral staircase.

            Harry went to the dorm and looked at the package Ron was talking about.  It was Harry's turn at the Crevi Game. He could tell by the shape of the package, recognizing it from previous turns.

            Harry opened it to take out the two Wizard Dice.  He rolled them.

            The silver die stopped to show a picture of a person standing still and looking, if Harry interpreted the emotion correctly, quite bored.  The gold die showed the number 11.  A piece of parchment appeared almost immediately before Harry.

You move forward eleven spaces.  The space you land on says:

"Losing a turn you will find answers if you stay behind."

In this round you are the fourth person to take you turn.

Out of eight players, seven remain.

~Game Host~

            Harry thought about this.  So he was losing his next turn.  That didn't seem so bad.  It said he'd find answers from staying behind, which made Harry wonder what questions he needed answers to.  Harry also thought about the fact that only seven players remained out of the original eight.  He wondered who had been disqualified.

            Harry set the paper down and it crumpled up and disappeared.  He sat on his bed and thought for a few minutes.  He began to realize that he did, indeed, have questions.

But he wasn't sure if he wanted some of them answered.

Curtains Close! {Honestly, I'm not sure why I have curtains when this is a story, not a play.  Oh well.  My curtains are fantastic and they're here to stay!}

Author's Note:  Sorry guys, I had to stop it there.  I'm tired, and if I don't get this chapter up tonight, it may not be up before the holidays.  It's very short, I know.  It's painful for me to end it here.  The next chapter will be nice and long, I promise.

Words of Wisdom:  "Only 1% of beauty is physical.  The rest is made up of you knowing you don't need that last 1%."

~That's just something I kind of realized yesterday when I was reading some magazine article about makeup.  

Please review!  It means so much to me!  And I'll try to read your stuff as well.

I love you all! * Blows kisses*

Ciao!

~Starry


	35. The Way Things Will Never Be

The Fifth House

Disclaimer: I'm not making any money, I don't own Harry Potter or anything remotely related to that, and I'd really like to continue with my story, so forgive me for cutting the disclaimer at that.

Author Note: I've been very bad, not updating for two months. But, I did a very, very good thing. I took the time to read my entire fic, and mapped out practically the entire story. This means that, given the time, I'll be able to update more often. The story will also be easier to understand. However, time is a standing issue, what with summer, vacations, and a part-time job. But this will make the story much easier to write.

My apologies for the poor Latin translations, several people have noticed how terrible they are.

To Too Lazy to Log In or Nitpick: I don't know what website I used, but it wasn't a very good one, was it? I don't think I'll need any translations any time soon, but thanx anyway! It's really just the text translations, not the one-word ones, that I have the real issues with, I think. But next time I need Latin, I will be consulting your assistance. I'll have my people get in touch with your people.

Read.

Review.

Regurgitate! [Special thanx goes out to Damon A. for this R word! Donations to the 'R words R Us' fund will be happily accepted!]

Curtains Up!

Chapter Thirty-Four 

"Harry, you have to swear that nothing will happen to you between now and the 31st," Fred Weasley said to Harry at Quidditch practice one day.

"I swear," Harry promised. He couldn't let himself miss any more practices, let alone matches.

"Harry, if you die, I'll kill you," Fred told him.

Fred looked Harry square in the eyes for a long moment before grinning and shifting his gaze.

"Okay, team, let's practice!"

The practice went smoothly, with no injuries and hardly any wasted time, if you don't count George Weasley's idea of warming up by tossing around Quidditch balls that were bewitched to explode at human touch.

Harry noticed that the team played very well together this year, and felt bad about missing the first match. It wasn't as though he could have helped it, but he felt he owed it to the team to perform well.

"Good playing, everyone!" George Weasley said at the end of the practice. "Ravenclaw should be no problem."

Harry had to agree. The team had been playing better than any other year he could remember, even his third year, when they won the Cup.

"You look happy," Hermione, said to Harry when he walked into the common room.

"And he didn't every other day?" Ron asked Hermione.

Hermione looked at Harry, then back at Ron. "Not so much lately."

He'd never say it aloud, but Harry agreed.

"Well, anyway. I'm tired, so I'll see you two tomorrow," Hermione said, picking up her books.

"What? But what about my Potions essay?" Ron asked, appalled.

"What about it? Snape told us about that two days ago. Plus, it's only one and a half pages of parchment," Hermione said.

"And you won't let me copy yours, I'm guessing?" Ron said, trying hard to sound innocent, but failing miserably.

"Ron, I'm done with my homework. I help you every night. You need to start paying attention. We have O.W.L.s this year, you know!" Hermione said, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Yes, but…they're months away…" Ron started.

"Fine! But this is the last time! And you're not getting my essay; I'm just lending you my notes. But this is the very last time I'm doing this for you," Hermione said, sounding more and more agitated every minute.

"Thank you Hermione," Ron said, trying to sound sweet and innocent.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Goodnight Ron. Goodnight Harry," she said before walking towards the staircase leading to the girl's dormitories.

"Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?" Ron asked Harry.

"You could say that," Harry said, hardly paying attention to what Ron was saying.

"I mean, yeah, we have the O.W.L.s, but those aren't for months!" Ron said, honestly not understanding why Hermione was being so uptight.

"Uh, yeah," Harry said.

"I mean, don't you agree?" Ron asked Harry.

"What?" said Harry, snapping out of a daze.

Ron looked at Harry for a minute.

"You alright there, mate?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah, I'm just tired from practice is all. I should probably get to bed," Harry said, standing up and gathering his books.

"But Harry- Snape's essay- it's due tomorrow!" Ron said.

"I'll do it at breakfast," Harry said, trying to stifle a yawn.

And with that, Harry slowly ascended the staircase leading to the boys' dorms, Ron looking very confused.

Harry lay awake in his bed that night, trying to figure out why he'd just told a bunch of lies to his best friend.

Harry was _not_ all right, he _wasn't_ tired from Quidditch practice, and chances are, he would _not_ have time to complete his Potions essay the next morning.

He could have easily told Ron the truth, that he had a lot on his mind, but he thought Ron might ask what, exactly, he was thinking about.

And with all that's going on with Harry right now, hardly any of it would be easy to tell, even if Harry was at liberty to tell it.

Which, in many, many cases, he was not.

Harry was thinking about Terces, and thinking about the House Elves. He was almost certain that they had to be connected somehow.

There were several reasons for Harry's certainty. First, the castle could not function as well without the Elves there, it would just be a big mess, and would soon look like the ruin it was enchanted for Muggles to see it as. Second, causing this kind of trouble was exactly the kind of things Terces would do, tearing up the school from the inside out. And third, it was a distraction. A distraction that Harry knew Terces would use to begin their more original, destructive, plans, so that they could come into power silently. And hadn't Mundungus Fletcher said they were all for silence?

Yes, Harry had a lot on his mind. And the fact that this much made sense didn't do anything to alleviate the stress he was under already.

Terces, Quidditch, O.W.L.s, it was almost too much to handle.

Harry fell asleep that night grateful that he had told Ron anything but the truth.

"Ron, I need to see your Potions essay," Harry said the next morning in the common room.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and then at Harry, both looking very confused.

"Are- are you sure you want _my_ essay?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Harry said, very sure of himself.

"Okay," said Ron, reaching into his bag and pulling out a few pieces of parchment, "But _why_?"

"Because you used Hermione's notes, meaning it must be correct, but, unlike Hermione, you won't give me as hard a time about borrowing it,' Harry explained.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, and then looked at Harry, just as they had done moments before.

"Will you two quit doing that?" Harry asked, sounding a little annoyed and very tired.

Harry worked on the essay through all of breakfast, feverishly reading parts of Ron's essay and then trying to quickly paraphrase them out loud before hurriedly scribbling on his parchment. He never got around to eating anything during the meal, so he had to grab a piece of toast for the walk to the dungeons.

"I've been thinking," Hermione said while they were walking to Potions class.

"Hermione, you don't really need to say that. We know you're always thinking," Ron said.

"Unless she's reading," Harry said before taking a bite of toast.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the boys, and then continued.

"Well, anyway, about what you said last night Ron, about the O.W.L.s not being for months," Hermione said.

"And…?" Ron asked, trying to make her get to the point so that they could stop talking about schoolwork.

"I was getting to that. I realized that the professors probably start giving us a lot of work months before so that we'll have ample time to learn each concept well before moving on to the next. Then, by the time O.W.L.s come around, we'll really just be reviewing instead of trying to learn everything over," Hermione said proudly.

"Well, I guess it makes sense," Ron said, thinking about it.

"Of _course_ it makes sense," Hermione said incredulously.

Harry smiled, feeling very happy that, for the moment at least, things seemed normal. The way they used to be.

Because Harry knew that things may never be that way again.

Curtains Close!

Author's Note: I am still unbelievably sorry this chapter took so long to get up. My computer had problems, I had tons of stuff to do before graduation, there was school, softball, tons of 'end of school year' events, plus a terrible, awful case of writer's block.

But I really am sorry.

On a happier note, has everyone heard the title of Book 6? Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince. Should be interesting. I hope it'll end like the fourth book, with a ton of things you don't know, therefore giving us fanfiction authors lots of room to come up with good stories. OotP just answered most of the questions from GoF, which made me think that it didn't have any incredible ending. Book 5 was probably my least favorite.

Words of Wisdom: "All of this happened because you had the courage to imagine it first," W. Rodman Philbrick in The Last Book in the Universe

I'll try to update ASAP! I really will, I promise!

Please review!

I love you all!

Ciao!

Starry


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